Thunder Push Back Against Tanking Accusations Amid Jazz Controversy
The Utah Jazz have been making headlines lately-not for a playoff push, but for what appears to be a calculated slide down the standings. With their 2026 first-round pick only conveying if it falls outside the top eight, Utah seems to be doing everything it can to keep that selection in-house. And yet, it’s not the Jazz catching the most heat in the league-wide tanking conversation-it’s the Oklahoma City Thunder.
That unexpected twist came to light when The Athletic’s Tony Jones reported that the Thunder have been working behind the scenes, trying to nudge the Jazz into staying competitive for the rest of the season. The motive?
If Utah's pick lands outside the top eight, OKC gets it. So yes, there's a lot at stake here, and the Thunder are well within their rights to protect their potential lottery windfall.
Still, the backlash has been swift and loud, with critics calling OKC hypocritical-arguing that the Thunder themselves built their 2025 championship roster by employing the same tanking tactics they now seem to be pushing back against.
And leading the charge? None other than Draymond Green.
Draymond Takes Aim at Thunder (Again)
On a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show, the four-time NBA champion didn’t hold back, accusing Thunder GM Sam Presti of hypocrisy.
“Sam Presti's livid at what Utah is doing,” Green said. “Only problem with that is, Sam Presti just won a championship last year doing what Utah is doing.”
But here’s the thing: that’s not exactly how the Thunder’s rebuild played out.
Let’s rewind. After trading away Russell Westbrook and Paul George in the summer of 2019, OKC was widely expected to bottom out.
Instead, they shocked the league. Led by a rejuvenated Chris Paul, the Thunder went 44-28 in the 2019-20 season and earned the fifth seed in the West.
That’s not tanking-that’s overachieving.
The following year, yes, the team took a step back. CP3 was gone, and the Thunder finished with a 22-50 record.
But context matters. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was shut down after 35 games due to plantar fasciitis-not some vague “injury management” excuse.
That season landed them the No. 6 pick, which turned into Josh Giddey.
In 2021-22, injuries again played a major role. Gilgeous-Alexander missed extended time, and the roster-one of the youngest in the league-struggled through a tough schedule. They won fewer than 25 games and picked second overall, selecting Chet Holmgren.
But from there, the rise began. As SGA returned to full health, and head coach Mark Daigneault continued to develop a core of gritty, high-IQ players, the Thunder started building something real.
Holmgren, Lu Dort, and Jalen Williams became foundational pieces-not just because of high draft picks, but because of smart scouting and savvy trades. Dort went undrafted.
Williams came via a pick acquired in a trade.
This wasn’t a team intentionally bottoming out year after year. It was a team navigating injuries, developing young talent, and making the most of their assets.
A Tale of Two Rebuilds
That’s why comparing OKC’s rebuild to what Utah is doing now doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. The Jazz’s current strategy is far more blatant.
Pulling key players like Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. after three quarters has become a pattern. It’s hard to argue that’s anything but a deliberate attempt to lose games down the stretch.
The Thunder never pulled those kinds of moves. Even during their lean years, they played hard.
They let young players develop in real-game situations. And when the pieces started clicking-when SGA became an MVP-caliber force, when Holmgren got healthy, when the supporting cast matured-they didn’t hold back.
They went for it. And they won it all in 2025.
So if they’re now urging Utah to stay competitive, it’s not hypocrisy-it’s strategy. It’s protecting an asset they earned through smart front office moves and long-term planning.
The Bigger Picture
Tanking has always been a thorny issue in the NBA. It’s a system that incentivizes losing in the short term for long-term gain.
But there’s a difference between a natural rebuild and an orchestrated collapse. The Thunder walked that line with discipline and patience.
The Jazz? That’s still up for debate.
What’s clear is that the Thunder aren’t just sitting back. They’re actively trying to shape their future-and if that means turning up the pressure on another team to play the right way, so be it.
Because in Oklahoma City, the championship window is wide open-and every pick, every player, every move counts.