The most important game of the 2025-2026 NBA season has arrived.
The Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies have led the tanking charge all year long in their attempts to secure the best possible odds at getting the No. 1 pick in the next NBA Draft.
Now, with the season winding down and every loss critically important, they will play one another in a game that will have a significant impact on the lottery odds for both teams.
The Grizzlies (25-55) have lost seven straight and nine of their last ten, while the Jazz (21-59) have lost ten straight. Unfortunately for both teams, one of them has to win.
No one is more (sarcastically) excited than ESPN NBA reporter Brian Windhorst.
“We have arrived at the Tanking Super Bowl,” Windhorst said on Friday’s Get Up. “I think it merits what we have to watch tonight. We’ve worked for months to get here. The teams have worked hard. We have arrived.
“I give you the Memphis Grizzlies versus the Utah Jazz, a game that nobody, and I mean nobody, wants to win.
“If Memphis wins this game, they could lose 7% chance at the top 4. If Utah wins this game, they could lose 10%. Do you know what Utah has gone through? They could lose 10%?
“Okay, so here’s what’s gonna happen. Memphis has 12 players out tonight. 12. And another who’s listed as doubtful. 90% of their salaries are on the bench tonight. Utah has 8 players out tonight. Peter, you think I am kidding, what I’m about to tell you. I am telling you, if you showed up on the bench and dressed in a Jazz or Grizzlies jersey, the coach would not only put you in the game, he would run plays for you.
“This is going to be theater.”
The Jazz and Grizzlies aren’t the only NBA teams tanking, as the Sacramento Kings made painfully clear last week when they started fouling Steph Curry(!) towards the end of a game. So this truly is going to be a battle of who wants it less. Whoever wins, loses. And whoever loses, wins?
Just don’t tell Adam Silver about any of this…
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.