NBA Owner Reportedly Berated Tanking Team's Coach for Winning on Road

An NBA owner recently scolded his head coach for winning games down the stretch of the season, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski described the situation on the latest edition of his podcast The Woj Pod (beginning at the 30-minute mark):

Wojnarowski said: "I know of an instance of an owner berating, really berating his coach here in the last several weeks of the season for going in and beating a pretty good team on the road, going, 'What are you doing?'"

While tanking isn't a new phenomenon in the NBA, it has received increased attention in recent years.

The Philadelphia 76ers bottomed out and won fewer than 20 games in three straight seasons from 2013-14 through 2015-16 under then-general manager Sam Hinkie. The phrase "Trust the Process" became synonymous with those losing seasons.

Philly used the high draft picks it gained to select talented players like Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz. The 76ers finished third in the Eastern Conference this season at 52-30 and won 16 consecutive games entering the playoffs.

In February, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban acknowledged that he told his players "losing is our best option."

Cuban was fined $600,000 for his comments. The Mavs finished 13th in the Western Conference at 24-58.

In an effort to curb tanking, the NBA made changes to its lottery system that will take effect for the 2019 NBA draft. As part of the new system, the three worst teams in the NBA will each have a 14 percent chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick.

Currently, the worst team has a 25 percent chance of landing No. 1.