The Wizards Are About to Win the NBA’s Tank War

Washington is set to win the NBA’s tank war.

The Wizards (17–63) can clinch the NBA’s worst record with either a loss or a Pacers win. Each team has two games remaining.

The Wizards, Pacers, and Kings flip-flopped for the league’s worst record throughout the first half of the season. But Washington lost 24 of its last 25 games to take control of the bottom heading into the final weekend of the campaign.

Per the current lottery structure, the teams with the three worst records have a 14% chance of selecting No. 1 overall and 52.1% shot at a top-four pick in a top-heavy 2026 NBA draft. But the team with the worst record can fall no further than fifth in the draft order via the lottery drawing, while the second-worst record will pick no worse than sixth, and so on.

Although tanking has been a common trend in the NBA for decades, the Wizards added a new wrinkle this season; they traded for Trae Young and Anthony Davis, two recent All-Stars, before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, but did not try to compete for a postseason berth. Instead, Young played just five games, while Davis has yet to make his Wizards debut.

The team reported various injuries for the two All-Stars since they were acquired before they were officially ruled out for the rest of the season earlier this week.

The Pacers and Jazz also executed similar trades for Ivica Zubac and Jaren Jackson Jr., respectively. Zubac played just five games for the Pacers before he was shut down, while Jackson played three before he underwent knee surgery.

The Jazz have the most consequential tank-related match-up remaining, which will take place when they face the Grizzlies on Friday. Utah is tied with the Kings for the fourth-worst record and can still sneak into the top three. Memphis is tied for the sixth-worst record with the Mavericks.

NBA’s worst records:

• Wizards (17–63)
• Pacers (19–61)
• Nets (20–60)
• Jazz (21–59)
• Kings (21–59)
• Mavericks (25–55)
• Grizzlies (25–55)

Commissioner Adam Silver admitted in February that the tanking issue has hit a new low.

“Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory?” Silver said. “Yes, is my view.” 

The NBA is exploring several draft lottery rule changes that could be implemented by next season. 

The league reportedly shared three proposals at a board of governors meeting in December, which included not allowing teams to select in the top four in consecutive drafts. The NBA has made new proposals in recent months, such as granting the same odds for the No. 1 pick for the bottom 10 teams or imploring a lottery system based on two-year combined records, similar to the WNBA.

ESPN reported earlier this week that a vote on potential rule changes is expected at the board of governors on May 28.