If you are a Sixers fan, you are more than likely happy about the ticket prices this season. Does that make up for the fact that the team itself, well… flat out stinks? No, not at all. Their 0-17 start was good (or bad) enough to be remembered as the second-worst start in NBA history. Thus far, they are last in field goals made, last in field goal percentage, last in three point field goal percentage, last in free throw percentage, fifth-last in assists per game, last in turnovers per game, last in points per game, last in points differential, but still only have the second worst record. Hey that’s good news, right? Nope. It’s a terrible news, actually.

To understand why that is a bad thing, we need to know why the Sixers are so bad. Simply put, they don’t have good enough players to actually be competitive in the NBA.  Andrei Kirilenko, who is 33 years old and hasn’t participated in any basketball-related activities yet; Luc Mbah a Moute, who is having one of the worst seasons in his career, yet averaging almost ten points per game; and Jason Richardson, who has been MIA since ‘12-’13 season. As for the rest of the team, only four players were first round picks, with six undrafted players and two second-rounders. The team was constructed to lose, not to win. However, three of the four first round picks were all early picks – Carter-Williams at 11, Noel at 6, Embiid at 3 – but they are still in need of more seasoning before reaching their full potential.

How did the Sixers get so bad? Just four years ago, they were in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, going down to the Celtics in a tough seven-game series. Then Igoudala left in free agency and the team was slowly but surely blowing up. Quickly realizing that they can no longer compete, the City of Brotherly Love traded its star point guard Jrue Holiday to New Orleans before the ‘13-’14 season for draft picks that resulted in Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel. The trend continued through the departures of veteran players such as Thad Young, Evan Turner, and Spencer Hawes.

This is called tanking.

TO TANK OR NOT TO TANK…

Tanking, by definition, is purposely losing. However, there are some misconceptions about it. It’s not like the players are trying to miss shots or give the ball away. In fact, that’s the last thing they are doing. You see players like Henry Sims taking charges, Hollis Thompson scrapping for loose balls, and Jakarr Sampson fighting for rebounds. You can feel the hustle and effort that the entire team is giving night in and night out. Brett Brown, the Sixers coach, god help his soul, is trying his darn best to win as many games as he can with this team. The true definition of tanking is to put together a team that is so bad that every field goal made is celebrated like the Eagles finally won the Super Bowl, and I would say the Sixers have achieved that no problem.

And now they have a better record than the Carmelo-led Knicks. I applaud the magnificent efforts by the Sixers, but it’s not what they wanted, or expected. Why would they want the dishonor of worst record in the league? Because it gives you the best chance at the number one overall pick in the NBA draft.

I don’t mean to state the obvious, but the higher a team’s draft pick is, the better their chance is at getting a good player. Legends like Hakeen Olajuwon, Shaq, and all-too familiar AI have been all top picks of their respective drafts. It would be almost blasphemous to forget about stars like Rose, LBJ, and Tim Duncan who is still roaming the NBA. Between those six, you can find 10 MVPs, 13 NBA Championships, 65 All-Star appearances, and 36 All-NBA First Team appearances. That is quite a résumé. Of course, there are some incredible draft busts such as Sam Bowie, Michael Olowokandi, Kwame Brown, and most recently, Anthony Bennett (even though the verdict is still out for him), and there are some unbelievable steals as the likes of Mark Ginobili, Dennis Rodman, Mark Price, and Marc Gasol, all representing the impressive lists of second round gems. Heck, Isaiah Thomas, who was the very last pick of the 2011 NBA draft, just received 4 year, 27 million dollars contract this offseason. But if you ask me, I would rather pick first than last.

HITTING THE LOTTERY

However, the NBA does something to stop teams from abusing the system – the lottery system. Unlike other sports, the team with the worst record doesn’t automatically get the first overall pick. But like I said, they get the best chance of winning the first pick. The lottery consists of 14 teams that didn’t make the playoffs, giving all of them a shot at either first, second, or third pick. The worst team has a 25% of picking first, while the team that barely missed out on the playoff has the incredible 0.5% chance. However, the funny thing is that the last times the team with the worst record actually got the first overall pick was over ten years ago – 2004 to be specific. Last year, the Cavaliers had a 1.7% chance of winning, and they snatched that out of Milwaukee’s hand. That still doesn’t stop teams from participating in the race to the bottom

Keep in mind, the NBA is the only major sport league that uses the lottery system. Both the NFL and the MLB award the first pick in their respective drafts to the team with the worst record.

KEEPING IT COMPETITIVE

The draft is essentially the only way for a small-market team to become competitive. If you’re not the Los Angeles Lakers, the New York Yankees, or the Dallas Cowboys of the world, you’re not going to be able to attract, or afford, the stars in the league. The only chance you have is the either build a team capable of contending for the championship through the draft, or build a team capable of contending enough for someone to be intrigued. One of the most notable examples is the Oklahoma Thunder, whose core players – Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka – were all drafted, with both Durant and Westbrook being top five picks in their respective drafts. Heck, after finishing the season with the record of 23-59, the Thunder snatched up James Harden in the draft and went on to have a fantastic season, improving their record to 50-32, and they haven’t looked back since.

How about the San Antonio Spurs? In ‘96-’97 season, the team was led by David Robertson and Dominique Wilkins. That would’ve been a great tandem, if it wasn’t for the fact that they were in the wrong side of thirty. So what do they do? They get rid of aging Wilkins, draft Tim Duncan, who immediately established himself as a star in his rookie year, as the number one overall pick, and went on to finish the season 56-26.

In baseball, there are the Nationals, who drafted two franchise players, Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, back to back in the 2009 and 2010 amateur drafts. In football, there are the Colts, who finished with dismal record of 2-14 in the 2011 season after losing Peyton Manning, only to make the playoffs the following year after drafting his replacement, Andrew Luck, as their top pick of the draft.

Tanking is almost necessary for a team to contend. Even the almighty Celtics with their proud 17 NBA Championship banners have traded Rajon Rondo, an All-star, for scrubs like Brandon Wright, Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson, and few draft picks. You would think the player of his caliber would bring much more back, but for the team that is tanking, all the Celtics can do is acquire draft picks and absorb bad contracts so the team has no chance of making the playoff. They realized that with their current roster, they cannot compete for the championship, and took appropriate action.

Not every team can set their goal to be a  world champion. How are Oladipo and Vucevic going to compete with the core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Andre Igoudala? They don’t. They can’t. Tanking may be frowned upon by many people, but I am all for Adam Silver’s comment. No team is trying to lose. No player is trying to throw the game. No franchise is trying to disappoint its team. It is just a rebuilding process that pretty much every team will or has gone through. It is not fair to criticize the Sixers, or any struggling franchise for their “losing mentality.” If needed, the league can put in a promotion/relegation system like they do in the European soccer league. Until that happens, “tanking” is a part of the game, and we must embrace it, whether you like it or not.