As the NBA’s tank race heats up, the Sacramento Kings appear ready to do whatever it takes to maintain their spot at the bottom of the league-wide standings.
Ahead of Wednesday’s road clash against the Utah Jazz, a fellow Western Conference cellar‑dweller, Sacramento announced it had already ruled out a slew of veteran players. Notable absences include two members of its underperforming star trio, sparking humorous reactions across the NBA World.
Kings’ Injury Report for Jazz Matchup Draws Comical Reactions As NBA’s Tankathon Intensifies
Tanking has taken center stage this week amid Utah’s bold decision to rest its two best players, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr., for the entire fourth quarter of back-to-back winnable games.
Jazz coach Will Hardy’s controversial coaching strategy garnered the franchise accusations of “point shaving” and “shameless tanking.” Still, Hardy’s squad managed to prevail 115-111 during Monday’s road clash against the Miami Heat behind wing Brice Sensabaugh’s late go-ahead 3-pointer.
As a result, Utah (17-37) inadvertently gained a game in the West standings over Sacramento (12-43), which has improbably claimed the NBA’s worst record despite entering the season with playoff aspirations.
Monday’s 120-94 blowout road loss to the lowly New Orleans Pelicans (15-40) marked the Kings’ 13th straight defeat, their longest losing streak since the franchise relocated from Kansas City to Sacramento ahead of the 1985-86 season.
Kings fans probably shouldn’t expect a significantly better effort against the Jazz, though. On Tuesday, The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson reported on X that the Kings “ruled De’Andre Hunter (eye), Zach LaVine (finger), Malik Monk (illness), Keegan Murray (ankle), Domantas Sabonis (knee), and Russell Westbrook (ankle) out for Wednesday.”
The seemingly routine injury update promptly drew entertaining online reactions as the hoops world anticipated a pitiful competitive display between the two bottom-feeders.
“Kings-Jazz could be pure comedy tomorrow,” Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix predicted.
“The Kings are trying to out-tank the Jazz tomorrow, this is insane,” Legion Hoops asserted.
The NBA’s tankathon continues 😂 https://t.co/jHFqL7wEld
— StatHunter (@stat_hunter) February 11, 2026
“DeMar DeRozan seeing he has to play,” Action Network’s Allan Lem captioned a video of the six-time All-Star throwing a water bottle.
“The Kings and Jazz trying to out-tank each other tomorrow night,” betting site Onyx captioned a video of two men battling for possession of a tire.
While Sacramento is one of three teams tied for the league’s top draft lottery odds (14%), alongside the Indiana Pacers (14-40) and Washington Wizards (14-38), Utah is lagging behind in the reverse standings. The Jazz currently have the sixth-best odds (9%) of landing the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
As such, Utah has plenty of incentive to throw in the towel on its remaining 28 contests, with multiple elite prospects (AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, and Darryn Peterson) projected to be up for grabs in June’s draft.
