Mat Ishbia sounds off on tanking in NBA — ‘Losing behavior’

Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia inserted his voice into the conversation about tanking in the NBA. Ishbia took to his X account to issue a bold statement against the practice, quoting an article from Yahoo Sports writer Tom Haberstroh.

He called the strategy of tanking “ridiculous” and said, “it’s a loser behavior done by losers.”

“This is ridiculous! Tanking is losing behavior done by losers. Purposely losing is something nobody should want to be associated with. Embarrassing for the league and for the organizations. And the talk about this as a ‘strategy’ is ridiculous. If you are a bad team, you get a good pick. That makes sense. But purposely shutting down players and purposely losing games is a disgrace and impacts the integrity of whole league.”

He also says that it’s worse than the prop betting scandal, equating it to strategically throwing games.

“This is much worse than any prop bet scandal. This is throwing games strategically. Horrible for fans that pay to watch and cheer on their team. And horrible for all the real teams that are competing for playoff spots.”

Ishbia’s comments are noteworthy, as he joins the growing chorus of NBA executives, media members, and fans who believe something should be done about the practice. Ishbia’s comments, especially, ring true, as his team has undergone a renaissance since not making the playoffs last year. When Ishbia took over the Suns following the ouster of Robert Sarver, he orchestrated the trade of Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets to the Phoenix Suns. He then pushed for a trade that sent Chris Paul to the Wizards in exchange for Bradley Beal.

In both the Beal and Durant trades, the Suns sacrificed several first-round picks. It’s a double down on winning now. And even as the team’s ability to put together a Big Three with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal went awry, Ishbia and the Suns pivoted.

Instead of looking for first-round capital to tank and rebuild the team, the Suns built around the margins, acquiring Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green from the Rockets in exchange for Kevin Durant, as well as getting more size in the front court by trading for Mark Williams.

Now the Suns are 32-23 and ranked seventh in the Western Conference; they are only two games behind the Timberwolves for sixth place and three games behind the Nuggets for the third seed. Perhaps Ishbia sees the Suns’ quick roster retooling as the standard for how a team should rebuild.

The Suns head to San Antonio to face Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs tonight at 8:30 p.m. Eastern.

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