Bobby Marks calls on the NBA to address tanking, pointing to Utah’s unapologetic strategy as a growing league-wide concern.
Although tanking has been around in the NBA since time immemorial, the issue has been brought to the forefront once again after the Utah Jazz‘s curious strategy late in games against the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat.
Even though they had prolific big men, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr., healthy and in uniform, Jazz head coach Will Hardy elected not to play either in the fourth quarters of the said contests. Against the Magic, even though the game hung in the balance in the final stanza, the Jazz didn’t even bother to call a single timeout and eventually lost, 120-117.
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The Jazz’s decisions did not go unnoticed by fans and analysts alike. On “NBA Today,” ESPN’s Bobby Marks called out the Jazz and called on the NBA to come up with a suitable measure to stop teams from tanking games.
Messing with the league’s integrity
The NBA is the world’s most prestigious basketball league, renowned for the intense competition that takes place every night. Fans pay big bucks to watch their favorite teams go head-to-head, expecting to see a competitive game until the final buzzer. However, when teams intentionally lose games, it undermines the very essence of what makes the NBA so exciting to watch daily.
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“I think what Utah is doing right now is messing around with the integrity of the NBA,” Marks pointed out. “The ability to sit players, starters in the fourth quarter, to not call timeouts in the fourth quarter. Orlando won the game on Saturday because they basically rested players and it backfired on them last night.”
“So, I think when if you’re the league, you’re looking at it — ‘All right, can we do some gimmicks? Can we alter protections and eliminate protections as far as picks? Or can we put the hammer down?'” he continued.
One former NBA star who was certainly appalled by what he saw the Jazz do was Kenyon Martin, who expressed his disdain for the practice.
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“This disgusting display of non-competitive organizations. I think it’s awful for the game. I think it’s awful for sports. Something has to be done. When you’re making it blatantly obvious like that, the league has to step in,” K-Mart stated.
“It has to be draft picks, some fines. Something has to give. Cuz it’s no good for the fans. If anybody is cheated, it’s the fans in these situations. These people are paying their hard-earned money to come out and see these guys play and cheer and root for them night in and night out, and you go out and do things like that.”
It’s an epidemic
To be fair to the Jazz, they aren’t the only ones who are trying their best to lose as many games as possible. The Washington Wizards actually acquired All-Stars Trae Young and Anthony Davis at the trade deadline, yet have no desire to see them on the court at all this season. The same goes for the Memphis Grizzlies, which finished the game against the Warriors with a virtual G League team.
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“Tank is the biggest problem that the league has right now, and it is an epidemic. The Jazz have become the poster boys. They’re not alone. A third of the league is blatantly tanking right now,” Tim MacMahon commented.
“This is on Adam Silver and the league office to figure out a solution — to figure out how to make it not smart strategy because the best teams in the league have benefited from tanking. That’s the problem,” he emphasized.
Tanking is a smart way to stock up on young, talented players who can elevate a team to elite status in the future. However, there’s a price to pay, and unfortunately, it’s the NBA and the fans who suffer the consequences.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Feb 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: Utah News