Phoenix Suns owner blasts NBA tanking! Deliberately losing games is disgraceful, and treating it as a strategy is even more absurd.

On February 20th Beijing time, Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia vehemently criticized the NBA's tanking practice, describing it as “losing acts committed by losers” and “much worse than any gambling scandal.”

Ishbia replied on social media to a Yahoo Sports article about tanking, engaging in one of the NBA’s hottest topics this season. Prior to the All-Star weekend, several teams were fined for resting players, and Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged the severity of the issue during the weekend.

“This is ridiculous! Tanking is losing behavior by losers,” Ishbia wrote. “Deliberately losing is something no one should be involved in. It’s a disgrace to the league and the teams. Calling it a ‘strategy’ is even more absurd.”

“If you are a weak team, naturally you get a high draft pick, and that’s fair. But intentionally benching players and throwing games is shameful and damages the entire league’s credibility.”

Because of a series of trades since Ishbia took over the team in 2023, the Suns cannot benefit from strategic tanking—they won’t regain their own first-round draft pick until 2032.

At the All-Star weekend press conference, Silver said this year’s tanking is “worse than anything we’ve seen in recent years,” and the league is considering responses, including stripping draft picks as punishment.

“This requires the whole community to decide what best serves the league’s interests,” Silver said. “It’s my job to remind everyone... I understand some may have short-term incentives, but we must never ignore the fans or let down those who support the league day after day.”

When posting, Ishbia expressed he “fully trusts” Silver to find a solution to tanking and urged NBA leaders to speak out publicly.

“This is far worse than any betting scandal,” Ishbia wrote. “It’s strategic losing on purpose. It’s terrible for fans who pay to watch and cheer for teams, and equally unfair to all teams genuinely fighting for playoff spots.”