LA Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts dropped a bombshell Thursday, basically telling John W. Davis of the Southern California News Group that ownership wants her team to tank. During shootaround ahead of their game against the Dream, Roberts straight up said that bench players would receive playing time for the rest of the season at the request of the front office. Talk about saying the quiet part out loud, huh?
The “Tank” Heard ‘Round the League
This is the kind of stuff everyone knows happens but nobody ever admits. Teams out of playoff contention, holding their draft picks, often prioritize losing to get a better spot. Sometimes it’s subtle, happening in the final week of the season, but Roberts’ comments made it sound like the Sparks entered this season with that plan in mind. Her exclusive chat with Davis really opened some eyes, especially with the tweet from Davis confirming ownership’s direct request for more bench minutes. It’s wild to hear a coach just lay it all out like that.
Clarifying the “Edict to Lose”
Of course, a clarification was coming. During her pregame press conference, Roberts tried to walk back the “tank” talk a bit. She insisted it wasn’t an outright order to lose games. Instead, she spun it as a “desire to get more minutes for younger players.” She said, “I didn’t mean to insinuate [the] bench playing meaning we’re not trying to win.” She doubled down, saying two things can be true: they want to see their young players, but also, “every time we put on a uniform, we want to win. Our veterans deserve that anyway.” She added that the vets can’t play 40 minutes every night and they want to give younger guys longer stints, but “not an abandonment of trying to win.” Sounds like someone in the front office, or Roberts herself, realized how spicy that first quote came across.
Playing Hard, Building for the Future
There’s a big misconception about tanking, right? It’s not usually about players deliberately trying to lose. Players are always gonna play hard. What Roberts is getting at, and what’s common, is that the front office wants to put younger, less experienced players on the court to develop them, even if it means losing more games. The Sparks are absolutely playing hard, but they are indeed rolling out a host of young players. When asked about conversations with the front office for the final nine games, Roberts emphasized playing hard, honoring the jersey, and “evaluate what we have and move into an offseason where we plan to be very productive.” It’s all about that long game now for the Sparks.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Silver Screen and Roll.
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