Why the Washington Football Team should not tank in 2020
By Jonathan Eig
Tanking in basketball
Ask the New York Knicks, who won the NBA’s first great anti-tanking device – the draft lottery – and were able to choose Patrick Ewing. Ewing was the player everyone was supposedly going to tank for because Ewing guaranteed championships.
Except he didn’t. He got his team to the playoffs every year, yes. But zero championships.
Ask the Philadelphia 76ers. They tanked. They tanked a lot. Year after year after year. Tank after tank after tank. They even had a name for their plan. They called it “the Plan.”
Okay, Philly may not be all that creative, but they try hard. And it flirted with working. They got better, which was hard not to do since while they were tanking they were among the worst teams ever. Got close, but so far, it hasn’t worked. And it’s looking like it simply isn’t going to.
Meanwhile, the Miami Heat, who didn’t have a plan to tank – but instead just acquired good players and coached them well – came within two games of winning the NBA championship this year – headlined by a player Philly gave up because – well, he didn’t fit the plan.
That’s basketball. I get it. Different animal. It’s not like football where if you don’t have a QB, you can’t compete. And according to the tank fans, the only way to get a good QB is to tank.