The Kings Weren't Tanking. They Were Just Bad at Coaching. The NBA Investigated and Found Out.

The NBA investigated the Sacramento Kings after their April 7 loss to the Warriors and concluded: no tanking. Just a coaching mistake. Doug Christie thought the Warriors weren't in the penalty and told his team to foul Seth Curry with just over 3 minutes left while leading by one. Problem was, Golden State WAS in the bonus. Free points from the line.

Draymond Green went public calling it tanking. The league launched a formal investigation. And after reviewing everything, the NBA determined Christie simply didn't know the foul situation. It was a mental error, not a competitive integrity violation.

It's almost worse than tanking, honestly. At least if you're tanking, there's a strategy. This was just a head coach not knowing the game state with 3 minutes left in a meaningful contest. Christie has been cleared, but "not guilty of tanking, guilty of bad coaching" isn't exactly a ringing endorsement heading into a crucial final stretch.