Gary Payton Says Seattle Sonics Tanked to Draft Him as NFL's Integrity in Question

Amid tanking allegations in the NFL involving the Miami Dolphins, Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton said the Seattle SuperSonics tanked the end of the 1990-91 season to have a chance to draft him. 

Speaking to VladTV (starts at :40 mark), Payton said he "heard that they tanked the season" to improve their odds in the draft lottery. 

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores alleged in his class-action lawsuit against the NFL and all 32 teams that team owner Stephen Ross offered him a $100,000 bonus for each loss during the 2019 season to improve their draft position. 

Ross issued a statement on Thursday denying the allegations, calling it "false, malicious and defamatory."

Tanking in the NBA has been an open secret for several years. The league has taken steps to disincentivize teams from doing it, including changing the lottery odds in 2019 to give the bottom three teams the same odds of getting the No. 1 pick (14 percent). 

There's no evidence from the SuperSonics' 1989-90 season to suggest the team was deliberately tanking. They lost 10 of 18 games after a victory over the San Antonio Spurs moved their record to 33-31, but they also won four of their final six games. 

Seattle got the No. 2 pick in the 1990 NBA draft despite being the only team selecting in the top 10 that year to finish at least .500 during the previous season. 

Regardless of what forces banded together to get Payton on Seattle's roster, the franchise was more than happy to have him. The Glove was named to the NBA's 75th anniversary team, won the 1995-96 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award and was a nine-time All-Star.