Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia has launched a scathing attack on NBA teams that deliberately lose games to improve their draft position. He called the practice disgraceful and compared it unfavorably to gambling scandals, following recent league fines against Utah and Indiana.

Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia has launched a fierce attack against NBA teams that intentionally lose games to secure better draft positions, describing the practice as disgraceful and comparing it to deliberately throwing contests.

In a social media statement posted Thursday, Ishbia expressed his disgust with the strategy, responding to a Yahoo Sports report about the league’s ongoing tanking issues. The controversy gained renewed attention after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver discussed the problem during All-Star Weekend, following financial penalties levied against two franchises.

“This is ridiculous! Tanking is losing behavior done by losers,” Ishbia declared on his X platform. “Purposely losing is something nobody should want to be associated with. Embarrassing for the league and for the organizations.”

The Suns owner didn’t stop there, escalating his criticism by questioning those who defend the approach as legitimate team-building.

“And the talk about this as a ‘strategy’ is ridiculous,” he added. “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. This is much worse than any prop bet scandal. This is throwing games strategically.”

Ishbia acquired the Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury from Robert Sarver in February 2023, paying $4 billion for both franchises.

Notably, Phoenix lacks control over its first-round draft selection until 2032 due to previous trades since 2023, eliminating any potential advantage from intentional losses.

“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,” stated Ishbia, who previously played basketball at Michigan State from 1999-2002, including during their 2000 championship campaign.

Commissioner Silver addressed the issue Saturday during All-Star Weekend in Inglewood, California, noting that teams’ obvious tanking efforts have reached unprecedented levels.

“Which was what led to those fines, and not just those fines but to my statement that we’re going to be looking more closely at the totality of all the circumstances this season in terms of teams’ behavior, and very intentionally wanted teams to be on notice,” Silver explained.

The Utah Jazz received a $500,000 penalty for restricting playing time for two key players, while the Indiana Pacers faced a $100,000 fine for roster decisions that sidelined three regular starters.

Silver indicated the league might implement harsher consequences, potentially including the loss of draft selections entirely.

“I think we’re coming at it in two ways,” Silver noted. “One is, again, focusing on the here and now, the behavior we’re seeing from our teams and doing whatever we can to remind them of what their obligation is to the fans and to their partner teams. But No. 2 … the competition committee started earlier this year re-examining the whole approach to how the draft lottery works.”

In his statement, Ishbia expressed confidence that Silver would address the problem through significant reforms.

“Those of us in a position of influence need to speak out,” Ishbia concluded. “… the only ‘strategy’ is doing right by fans, players, and the NBA community.”