EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsPhoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia sounded off on the issue of tanking in the NBA, calling it a "losing behavior done by losers" and "much worse than any prop bet scandal."Ishbia, responding to a Yahoo Sports story about tanking on X on Thursday, added his voice to one of the major narratives of the NBA season. Multiple teams drew fines prior to the All-Star break for sitting players, and commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged the magnitude of the problem over the weekend."This is ridiculous! Tanking is losing behavior done by losers," Ishbia wrote. "Purposely losing is something nobody should want to be associated with. Embarrassing for the league and for the organizations. And the talk about this as a 'strategy' is ridiculous."If you are a bad team, you get a good pick. That makes sense. But purposely shutting down players and purposely losing games is a disgrace and impacts the integrity of whole league." Because of trades made since Ishbia took control of the team in 2023, the Suns couldn't benefit from strategically tanking. Phoenix does not have control of its own first-round pick until 2032.During his All-Star Weekend news conference, Silver said tanking has been "worse this year than we've seen in recent memory" and that the league is looking at options, including taking away draft picks, as a possible mediation."It's the whole community coming together and deciding what's in the best interest," Silver said. "It's part of my job to remind everybody. ... I understand what your short-term interests may be, but we'd better not lose sight of our fans here. We'd better not lose sight of the people who support this league day in and day out."In his post, Ishbia noted his "complete confidence" that Silver would find a solution to tanking and called on those in NBA power to speak out."This is much worse than any prop bet scandal," Ishbia wrote. "This is throwing games strategically. Horrible for fans that pay to watch and cheer on their team. And horrible for all the real teams that are competing for playoff spots."
