This summer, the NBA will feature a draft class filled with future basketball stars like Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle and Jabari Parker. These players are so coveted that some NBA teams deliberately try to build a deficient roster only to lose games and get a higher spot in the draft to select them. This phenomenon is called “tanking” and NBA executives are increasingly open to this idea. I think NBA teams rebuilding should support tanking because it makes their team better in the long run and ensures they acquire good players they aren't guaranteed to get in free agency. If done correctly, tanking can turn any rebuilding NBA team into a powerhouse. . For example, in the years when the Seattle SuperSonics became the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team worked its way to acquiring Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden in the NBA draft. These three players have done a lot to make the Thunder a title contender, and even though Harden has since been traded, Oklahoma City has created a team through tanking that can consistently make the playoffs and draw a big crowd to the arena at every time. night. If the Thunder never bothered to acquire their players, they would find themselves in the middle of the Western Conference every year, and the lack of crowds would make people wonder why an NBA team was brought to Oklahoma City in the first place. Other smaller market teams have sought superstars as early as 1984, when the Houston Rockets signed Hakeem (then known as Akeem) Olajuwon, as well as in 1997, when the San Antonio Spurs signed Tim Duncan or in 2003, when the Cleveland Cavaliers signed LeBron James. . You may have heard of these three names. Olajuwon led the Rockets to two champions...... middle of paper ......th Western Conference. While a casual NBA fan will likely never root for their team to lose, it's not only an unorthodox way to support a team; it can also be extremely effective in the long term. For any struggling NBA team, tanking is the only logical option. If a team that isn't in contention to win games right now isn't tanking, they're building their team the wrong way. Although tanking is not generally considered the most honest way to build a team, unless something is done to prevent it, it is exactly how NBA executives will build their team. If the strategy is effective, then why shouldn't NBA teams use it? Works Cited Reevy, Matt. “5 NBA teams that made it through the draft.” Wall St Cheat Sheet. December 28, 2013. Google. Internet. January 8, 2014. “NBA Annual Attendance.” Participation in the NBA. ESPN, 2013. The web. January 8. 2014. .