Though it was once seen as a sure-fire bet that the OKC Thunder would land not one, but two lottery picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, recent happenings suggest that this might not be as much of a guarantee as previously believed.
Despite being just two wins behind the Portland Trail Blazers for a top 10 seed in the Western Conference standings, the Utah Jazz, whose protected first-rounder for next June's draft is owned by Oklahoma City, are now blatantly tanking.
That is, at least, according to Desert News' Sarah Todd.
During a recent appearance on The Athletic NBA Daily, the beat reporter revealed her suspicion that Utah's front office is "pretty committed" to gunning for a "fourth-worst, or worse" finish on the year in an effort to hold onto their draft rights, and a telltale sign of this is the fact that they're now actively holding out star forward Lauri Markkanen from games.