Built to Lose: How the NBA's Tanking Era Changed the League Forever
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- Create Date：2022-10-16 08:41:38
- Update Date：2025-09-23
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- Author：Jake Fischer
- ISBN：1637271735
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Summary
“From front offices to college campuses， Jake Fischer takes you on an engrossing tour of the NBA in its latest golden age， when some of the most captivating teams won by losing。” —Lee Jenkins， former Sports Illustrated NBA writer
An insider account of modern NBA team-building， based on hundreds of exclusive interviews。
A single transcendent talent can change the fortunes of an NBA franchise。 One only has to recall the frenzy surrounding recent top pick Zion Williamson to recognize teams’ willingness to lose games now for the sake of winning championships later。 It’s a story that weaves its way behind closed doors to reveal intricate machinations normally hidden from public view。
Backed by extensive reporting and hundreds of interviews with top players， coaches， and executives， Jake Fischer chronicles secret pre-draft workouts， feuding between player agents and executives， surprising trade negotiations， interpersonal conflicts， organizational power struggles， and infamous public relations fiascos， making for a fascinating look at the NBA。
Updated to include new material， this is the definitive account of the NBA’s tanking era， when teams raced to the bottom in the hope of eventually winning a championship。
An insider account of modern NBA team-building， based on hundreds of exclusive interviews。
A single transcendent talent can change the fortunes of an NBA franchise。 One only has to recall the frenzy surrounding recent top pick Zion Williamson to recognize teams’ willingness to lose games now for the sake of winning championships later。 It’s a story that weaves its way behind closed doors to reveal intricate machinations normally hidden from public view。
Backed by extensive reporting and hundreds of interviews with top players， coaches， and executives， Jake Fischer chronicles secret pre-draft workouts， feuding between player agents and executives， surprising trade negotiations， interpersonal conflicts， organizational power struggles， and infamous public relations fiascos， making for a fascinating look at the NBA。
Updated to include new material， this is the definitive account of the NBA’s tanking era， when teams raced to the bottom in the hope of eventually winning a championship。
Reviews
Perry
，
This book feels more like a notebook dump than a cohesive narrative。 Fischer gets lost in the minutiae of the NBA from 2013 to 2015 and doesn’t really relate how “the league was changed forever。” There are interesting insider tidbits。 Other than the 76ers ultimate tank job （which I don’t think is particularly commendable）， it was business as usual for professional basketball。
Tim Blackburn
，
NBA Tanking ExplainedAn interesting behind-the-scenes look at the world of NBA tanking during the 2010s primarily focusing on the Philadelphia 76ers。 Informative and eminently readable， the book provides background info for NBA junkies。
Lance
，
In basketball， more than any other professional sport， one draft pick can make or break a team’s future success。 Therefore， draft picks， or more correctly， draft capital， are considered a very valuable commodity。 Because the NBA draft lottery does not guarantee that the worst teams will get the first pick， some teams may want to accumulate draft capital in addition to losing more games， known as “tanking”， in order to improve their draft position。 How this was done by some NBA franchises in the In basketball， more than any other professional sport， one draft pick can make or break a team’s future success。 Therefore， draft picks， or more correctly， draft capital， are considered a very valuable commodity。 Because the NBA draft lottery does not guarantee that the worst teams will get the first pick， some teams may want to accumulate draft capital in addition to losing more games， known as “tanking”， in order to improve their draft position。 How this was done by some NBA franchises in the five year period between 2013 to 2018 is chronicled in this very good book by Jake Fisher。Fisher conducted many interviews with players， coaches and team management personnel to collect the information and stories he uses throughout the book and it provides very good insight into the workings of those teams who sought to improve their draft capital。 While several teams are discussed in the book， the primary focus was on the Philadelphia 76ers and their “process”， as it was called， in obtaining draft capital at the expense of wins。 They came very close to breaking their own record for the worst full season but did get some valuable picks。 Other teams include two that might surprise people – the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers。 While both of those storied franchises may not come to mind when the subject is tanking， they did fit the profile that Fisher gives to teams who may lose many games， trade veteran players for draft picks or realize that it may be more beneficial to try to gain draft capital instead of chasing a low playoff spot。 The results are mixed – the Celtics and Lakers did not take long to go back to their winning ways while others， such as the 76ers （on the rise， but not a champion yet） or the Minnesota Timberwolves （still struggling at the time of the book’s publication） have not seen the fruits of this type of management。While the book is a good look at this type of management of a basketball franchise， the stories jump around and at times it’s hard to keep up with all the different names and stories being discussed。 Because of that， no one team’s experience is described fully。 Not even the 76ers’ story could be considered complete here。 There is another book on their process that is recommended if the reader wants to know more about them specifically – “Tanking to the Top” by Yaron Weitzman。 But if a reader wants to learn more about this type of management in a more general sense， this is good reference。 。。。more
Douwe
，
Really interesting stuff here from Fischer。 He starts off the book by claiming he's done hundreds of interviews for the book and it shows。 He delivers a good and comprehensive overview of the NBA's tanking era。 That being said， I feel like the amount of interviews and the knowledge that came with that made him add tidbits here and there that bogged down the story a bit。 Because of this， the book felt unfocused at times。 That piece of criticism aside， it's a really enjoyable read if you're an NBA Really interesting stuff here from Fischer。 He starts off the book by claiming he's done hundreds of interviews for the book and it shows。 He delivers a good and comprehensive overview of the NBA's tanking era。 That being said， I feel like the amount of interviews and the knowledge that came with that made him add tidbits here and there that bogged down the story a bit。 Because of this， the book felt unfocused at times。 That piece of criticism aside， it's a really enjoyable read if you're an NBA fan or even a sports fan in general。 。。。more
Dave Weller
，
Built to Lose was quite a shift from my normal pattern of reading mysteries and thrillers， but I enjoyed it quite a bit。 Being an avid fan of the NBA is a prerequisite for appreciating this account of the tanking period。 I am a Nuggets and Sixers fan， and the Sixers are the lead story in this account of Sam Hinkie and the "process"。 Other teams included in the tanking ranks were the Celtics， Suns， Magic and Kings。 My criticism of this book would be the long run-on paragraphs and the sudden digre Built to Lose was quite a shift from my normal pattern of reading mysteries and thrillers， but I enjoyed it quite a bit。 Being an avid fan of the NBA is a prerequisite for appreciating this account of the tanking period。 I am a Nuggets and Sixers fan， and the Sixers are the lead story in this account of Sam Hinkie and the "process"。 Other teams included in the tanking ranks were the Celtics， Suns， Magic and Kings。 My criticism of this book would be the long run-on paragraphs and the sudden digressions from the main storyline of a chapter or sub-chapter。 Nonetheless， the anecdotes and inside stories held my attention， and I would recommend this book to all the NBA geeks out there。 。。。more
Darren
，
doesn’t focus on them but the #tanknote era of the jazz while coming away with nothing at that time was dire。 Thankfully being able to find Mitchell and Gobert later in the first round
Hizonfire
，
Well researched and entertaining look at The ProcessVery readable and lots of insider info on NBA behind the scenes。 It's not about just Hinkie ans his Process， but also the league in general。 Great too that the author doesn't put himself in the story unlike other recent sports books。 If you're an analytics nut， wannabe GM， or even a casual fan， you'll find a lot of knowledge and juicy bits in this book。 Absolutely highly-recommended。 Well researched and entertaining look at The ProcessVery readable and lots of insider info on NBA behind the scenes。 It's not about just Hinkie ans his Process， but also the league in general。 Great too that the author doesn't put himself in the story unlike other recent sports books。 If you're an analytics nut， wannabe GM， or even a casual fan， you'll find a lot of knowledge and juicy bits in this book。 Absolutely highly-recommended。 。。。more
Hannah
，
kind of lost the plot but still interesting
Marcia
，
There was a lot of interesting information here about the workings of the NBA， but I wished it had been condensed and more focuses。 It rambled along in places。
Anthony Gagliano Jr。
，
Jake Fischer writes an engaging NBA sports tome， from the inside。 Imagine being privy to closed door meetings， private conversations about evaluating high school and college talent， current pro players who might be trade-bait， etc。 Now imagine seeing how those decisions turned out， who was a bust， who exceeded expectations。 And all at the same time seeing NBA teams tanking on purpose all in the name if getting higher draft picks for upcoming years！ Jake paints us a picture like Bob Ross would; a Jake Fischer writes an engaging NBA sports tome， from the inside。 Imagine being privy to closed door meetings， private conversations about evaluating high school and college talent， current pro players who might be trade-bait， etc。 Now imagine seeing how those decisions turned out， who was a bust， who exceeded expectations。 And all at the same time seeing NBA teams tanking on purpose all in the name if getting higher draft picks for upcoming years！ Jake paints us a picture like Bob Ross would; a little color here， and there for effect。 Before you know it you've got a contender on your hands， worthy of framing！ Much of this book does focus on a few teams， more so on the Philadelphia 76ers。 It's timely and noteworthy because the 76ers are having a lot of drama recently with one of those potential players， Ben Simmons。。。 who can't seem to stay out of the spotlight for all the wrong reasons no matter how he might try。 We learn from Jake that many of these young players taken out of high school and/or college are underdeveloped as adult citizens。 Sometimes， but more often than not， these young men don't know how to handle instant millionaire money， and the responsibility it takes to manage the financial side of their careers。 Also with the social temptations that being on the road and in the spotlight brings when you are in a big city with nightlife， there is always a party happening。 I would definitely recommend this book for an in-depth look at the NBA， tanking teams striving for higher draft picks and the crazy strategy that helps build contenders in a league full of parity。 。。。more
Dave Cottenie
，
An interesting look at the losing ways of teams in Sacramento， Philadelphia and Los Angeles。 Unfortunately， it felt like it moved around too quickly and the links between stories were not very strong。 Worth a look， however。
Charlie
，
I don't think it was focused enough。 Telling the story of one franchise would have been more interesting， and it stuck more to anecdotes from teams than broader looks at the effects of tanking。 I don't think it was focused enough。 Telling the story of one franchise would have been more interesting， and it stuck more to anecdotes from teams than broader looks at the effects of tanking。 。。。more
Evan Kirby
，
Lots of great quotes in here， and I'll never get tired of hearing about how much of a sweetie Brett Brown is/was。 Lots of great quotes in here， and I'll never get tired of hearing about how much of a sweetie Brett Brown is/was。 。。。more
Ellison
，
This examines the 'process' of the idea of losing enough games to get a chance to get into the NBA lottery to draft enough players to get good。 Does it work？ looks at executives， players， egos， contracts， injuries， and unrealized potential。 Insightful， swearing。 This examines the 'process' of the idea of losing enough games to get a chance to get into the NBA lottery to draft enough players to get good。 Does it work？ looks at executives， players， egos， contracts， injuries， and unrealized potential。 Insightful， swearing。 。。。more
Blinn
，
As someone who hasn't followed the NBA closely in years， this book provided a fascinating and informative deep dive into how the league operates and how the prevalence of tanking took over sports。 As someone who hasn't followed the NBA closely in years， this book provided a fascinating and informative deep dive into how the league operates and how the prevalence of tanking took over sports。 。。。more
Amy
，
I can appreciate the effort that went into collecting interviews and quotes and information for this。 I think I would’ve been better if it stuck to the story of one franchise。 It’s almost like it was planned to be about the sixers but then he found something interesting with the kings， and with the Lakers， and with the suns， and kept dipping into other places which is where it started to lose me
Avi Sholkoff
，
3。5 stars。 A good book about the NBA’s ranking era。 He interviewed a ton of people and it shows。 Super valuable insights and especially relevant given that a few of the teams he features had （relatively） deep playoff runs。 I do think it would’ve been better served focusing on just one team rather than multiple。 I found the Sixers’ aspect of the story most interesting and the Kings and the Magic pieces less so。 I appreciated the inclusion of the guys from Rights to Ricky Sanchez and feel as thoug 3。5 stars。 A good book about the NBA’s ranking era。 He interviewed a ton of people and it shows。 Super valuable insights and especially relevant given that a few of the teams he features had （relatively） deep playoff runs。 I do think it would’ve been better served focusing on just one team rather than multiple。 I found the Sixers’ aspect of the story most interesting and the Kings and the Magic pieces less so。 I appreciated the inclusion of the guys from Rights to Ricky Sanchez and feel as though the book might’ve been even better had there been more inclusion of fans。 Overall a solid book about the NBA’s ranking era and whether it’s “worth” it。 。。。more
Chris Orrin
，