What team(s) have never tanked on purpose?

[Kakish]

Lakers.

[ITK9]

sixers

[TonyMontana]

Honestly I am so proud to say that MY LAKERS have never ever tanked, but I have to give the Jazz props for everything they have accomplished.
Jerry Sloan by far is one of the best coaches in this league, who has been as good as a coach can be with the roster's he has and had.
I know dam well that not that many palyers want to play in a small market team like Utah , but for Sloan to put together a team that is in the playoffs year after year .
I take my hat off to him.
Ya when it comes to Tanking I think these are the only two teams that I can say that have taken the good and the bad and made it to the playoffs, but Jazz F.O and Slaon are by far a class act.

[legacyinthemakin89c]

Detroit has never tanked. Every ten or so years we go from great to suck and then back to great again.

[a-rod]

Probably the Bulls post-dynasty. Those teams were horrible. Last season, I don't know what happened though.

Jerry Krause!!!??

[SOUL]

I like how every fan is listing their team

[KarlMalone32]

Utah Jazz come to mind and maybe the Lakers also. But as some other posters have mentioned, that first post-Shaq season was a little fishy for the Lakers down the stretch.

[sonny]

Bulls.

The post Jordan years we were just horrible.

The LeBron draft we finished the season on a high note ending up with 30 wins.

Then Jay crashed his bike, Curry got fat and Chandler hurt his back.

[Rooster]

No team has ever tanked. Tanking is a fictional concept made up by the media to rip bad teams at the end of the season for looking at younger players, giving them experience, instead of playing the guys everyone knows. It's the media's ripping of teams for doing what's best for their teams instead of what's best for media ratings.

Seriously, look at the box score for the last game of the season in 2006 between the Celtics and the Wolves. (I think.) It's pathetic.

Teams don't usually tank though, I agree. It takes a special kind of crappiness to tank.

[Rasheeed!!!]

Boston last season and Miami this season blatantly tanked.

[HumbleBumbleBee]

Th Raptors have never tanked. They just sucked.

...took the words right out of my mouth

[Reks]

the Lakers have never tanked

55 post-seasons in 60 seasons proves it

If that's true, that's insane

[doc.end]

Bobcats are obvious. In their short history the closest thing to tanking was Sam Vincent incompetence throughrout whole lasty year. And we are still picking ninth.

2005 - they lost a toos up a didn't get No.4 (Chris Paul)
2006 - they didn't avoid another toss up when they could
2007 - they did just the opposite of tanking they could go as around No.3 in to the lottery instead of No.8.
2008 - they had stronger finish of the season again

they have always had better second halfs of seasons

[W_HAMILTON]

Yes, the Bobcats. Not only do they not tank, in the closing weeks of the season, they act as if they're in a neck-and-neck fight with another team for the best record in the NBA and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.

To add to what doc.end said:

2005- We won a meaningless game at the end of the season, which caused us to tie the Hornets, which caused the coin flip that we ended up losing, and it cost us Chris Paul. If we had lost that game, we would have had Chris Paul.

And one of those seasons (2007?), we were one of the worst teams in the league for like the first four months or so, in a clear position for like the 3rd pick. Then we go on a tear, and end up falling several spots, even though talent-wise we were one of the worst teams and needed a better pick

2008 - yes, we finish the season strong, and the one time we DON'T win a game to force a meaningless coin flip...who wins the number #1 pick in the draft? The team we would have been flipping a coin with.

Sigh.

[ffz2000]

I'm a Rockets fan and I hate the Jazz, but I got to respect Sloan for never tanking. Personally I think he'd rather eat his own hands and feet before tanking.

[Gant]

Bucks never tanked.

Ha! Don't you remember last spring Celtics vs. Bucks in the most awesome Tankapalooza contest in NBA history? Both teams injured-listed ALL their starters and best reserves (a lot of which was legit). Both teams played the worst starting fives they could muster.

Earl Boykins was in a contract year and didn't give a damn, scoring 27 (I think) and winning the game for Milwaukee.

If you can find the game threads on the Celtics and Buck boards they're hilarious, with both fan bases bitterly arguing about who would prevail by LOSING the game. (The Celtics did. WOO HOO!)


(I like tanking. It's a highly underrated and beautiful art.)

[jazzfan1971]

I'm a Rockets fan and I hate the Jazz, but I got to respect Sloan for never tanking. Personally I think he'd rather eat his own hands and feet before tanking.

+1

[Mahoney_jr]

Bucks never tanked.

Ha! Don't you remember last spring Celtics vs. Bucks in the most awesome Tankapalooza contest in NBA history? Both teams injured-listed ALL their starters and best reserves (a lot of which was legit). Both teams played the worst starting fives they could muster.

Earl Boykins was in a contract year and didn't give a damn, scoring 27 (I think) and winning the game for Milwaukee.

If you can find the game threads on the Celtics and Buck boards they're hilarious, with both fan bases bitterly arguing about who would prevail by LOSING the game. (The Celtics did. WOO HOO!)


(I like tanking. It's a highly underrated and beautiful art.)

I love you Gant


PS: Regarding tanking: At the end of the day, it's a question of definition. Every team that's out of contention won't play hurt guys and will give minutes to younger players or players who insist on minutes because they become free agents.

PPS: The Celtics clearly tanked, no question. They had no interest in winning games.

PPPS: The Bucks clearly tanked, too.

PPPPS: The best tank-job ever was performed by the allmighty Mark Madsen in 2006 against the Grizzlies. I think, Gant would have loved it, if it didn't cost us a position in the draft. But as the last year shows, everything worked out fine for us with pick 7 in 06 and pick 5 in 07. Good times.

[Dirty Water]

Boston last season and Miami this season blatantly tanked.

Boston was in tank mode, but it was mostly fueled because of injuries. They were an average to below average team when healthy.