Things hit the proverbial fan for the Memphis Grizzlies pretty quickly this season. After a 7-4 start prompted optimism around the post-GNG retooling, the Grizz dropped 16 of their next 17. Losing Mike Conley in the process, their season slid directly into the gutter. From there it was all about one thing: Tanking.
The problem was, this season’s crop of NBA lottery hopefuls was especially thick. Plenty of teams opted to bottom out this year; some were fed up with mediocrity (Atlanta, Chicago), while others were just lost (looking at you Orlando). A crowded glut of clear contenders, plus expiring incentive be terrible only forced more teams into the fray.