Tanking is a legitimate strategy in every sport with a draft and revenue sharing (so all American sports) , but the scope of what is going on in the NBA the last few seasons is just bad for the game. Teams like Memphis, Chicago, and Atlanta are just blatantly and actively trying to prevent themselves from winning. When Chicago came to the Garden to play the Knicks, they had "injuries" to four of their main guys and gave Lauri Markkanen ( a rookie, not some aging vet) a rest day just to ensure that they lost and kept the Knicks from getting closer in the tankathon standings.
Memphis has purposely given up on this season ever since Mike Conley's "season-ending" injury early on and I'd be delighted if their reward for continually embarrassing their fans and the league is falling to fourth or fifth in the lottery.