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NBA teams don't like to admit to tanking, but all of them do it at some point or another. From the Sacramento Kings resting DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo down the stretch of a season in which they won't make the playoffs to the Philadelphia 76ers hiring Sam Hinkie, there are plenty of examples of teams willfully losing games in recent years.
The Los Angeles Lakers have publicly postured as though they are attempting to make the playoffs for the last several seasons, but whether it was intentional or accidental, the team has had it's most impressive run of tanking ever over the last three years.The Lakers set new lows for the worst record in franchise history over each of the last three campaigns, culminating in their 62nd loss of the season on Wednesday night.
Between that low essentially clinching the second-best lottery odds for the Lakers and Hinkie's resignation, there has been plenty of debate about the merits of losing over the last 24 hours. This made it a fitting time for The Kicker to release a music video for "The Tanking Anthem" featuring rapper Joe Budden, a song hilariously satirizing and celebrating the various cliches about tanking. Give it a watch:
This gif in particular sums up the Lakers last three seasons better than the thousands of words spilled on them:
If the Lakers finish the season with the second-best lottery odds and a 55.8 percent chance to receive a top-three selection in the 2016 draft (meaning they would get to keep their pick instead of sending it to the Sixers), then maybe all of the tanking will have been worth it. Until that's decided, it's probably best to watch the video above and try and find some laughs in all of the misery.
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