March Madness is one of the best times of the year to be a basketball fan. To be specific, it’s the best time of year to be a college basketball fan. This stretch of the calendar is amazing for all basketball enjoyers—but not quite as amazing for those who prefer the professional game.
In stark contrast to college basketball, March is when the NBA begins to slow down. Teams are preparing for the rapidly approaching postseason. For contenders, this means lightening the load on superstar players and maybe tapering the intensity a bit to conserve energy for the games that matter. For the teams on the other end of the spectrum, the Ides of March are about when tanking begins in earnest. With fewer than a month’s worth of games remaining and no shot at contention, these organizations are incentivized to lose as much as possible in order to increase their lottery odds and a shot at an elite prospect in the NBA draft.
