If your takeaway from the NBA Draft Lottery is that it represents the end of tanking, we watched two completely different NBA seasons.
The New Orleans Pelicans, who ended up with the first overall pick, tanked. The Los Angeles Lakers, who ended up with the fourth overall pick, tanked. Now more than ever, tanking pays off.
Let’s start with the Pelicans. Winning the lottery was great news for the people of New Orleans, who were finally able to take a ten minute break from shouting NFL postseason what-ifs into the abyss.