How hard is it to fix tanking in the NBA? Warriors star Draymond Green has recently floated the idea of minimizing the tanking issue that the league has been trying to fix for quite a while. The debate around tanking refuses to fade, and Green is no longer tiptoeing around it. Speaking after the Golden State Warriors edged past the Sacramento Kings 110–105, Green questioned the system. Also, he challenged the NBA to act with the same urgency it often shows when disciplining players.His frustration also extended to the Play-In format itself, a concept once praised for keeping teams competitive into the season. For Green, the reality now feels different.
Draymond Green on tanking and play-in tournament
Draymond green. Image via: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images
Draymond Green’s message was blunt. Tanking, he believes, is not just happening. It is happening openly, without meaningful consequences. “I think I get fined when I do wrong,” Green said. “Just fine the hell out of people. We love taking money from players, keep fining the teams. I’ve seen two fines. And we all know everybody tanking. But you’ve seen two fines.”His frustration ties back to recent penalties handed to the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers. To Green, those actions barely scratch the surface. “If it was players (the league) would have snatched that money in a heartbeat,” he continued. “Why isn’t it the same?”The Play-In Tournament, once introduced to discourage losing, no longer convinces him. “I think it worked initially, and now to have a team stuck in 10th, it ain’t working,” Green said. “So we could have lost our last 15 games and been stuck in 10th, it ain’t working.”He didn’t hide his personal feelings either. “You go on the road in a game that you need to win I think, as a competitor, you’re going to rise to the challenge,” he said. “But I’m not going to sleep (Wednesday) night like, man, we got this Play-In next week, I got to get my rest. Nah, it ain’t that exciting.”
Draymond Green calls out the Kings
Green further pointed to a moment late in the game that raised eyebrows. With just over three minutes left, Doug McDermott fouled Seth Curry despite the Warriors already being in the bonus.“I saw a team tonight foul Seth Curry with three minutes to go in a game for no reason. In the penalty,” Green said.Curry, one of the league’s most reliable free-throw shooters, converted, and the Warriors never looked back. The sequence is now under review, though Sacramento has maintained it was a miscommunication involving a timeout attempt by coach Doug Christie.Green was not convinced it was that simple. To him, it reflected a pattern. “We all know everybody tanking. But you’ve seen two fines… If my math serves me correctly that’s 10 that ain’t been fined.”Of course, the NBA is looking for solutions, but it would be interesting to see whether the league is willing to treat teams the same way it treats its players.
