There has been a lot of anti-tanking talk this year, particularly from the office of NBA commissioner Adam Silver. At the same time, it's a method for basement teams like the Sacramento Kings to get good draft picks. And it's possible that the Kings have been tanking since day one of the season.
Basically no one thought the 2025-2026 season was going to be good for the Kings. They had recently fired their award-winning head coach and traded the face of the franchise away. All they had left was a rookie head coach, a new front office, and a severely imbalanced roster.