The other day Professor Michael McCann of Sports Law Blog had a post on the recurring concern about whether bad NBA teams "tank" late in the season in order to secure a better draft pick. Concern about this phenomenon is what led to the unique "lottery" system in the NBA. I wrote him asking why this concern continually arises in the NBA and not other pro leagues.

Michael has written a long and persuasive response to my query, Why Does Tanking Occur in the NBA but Seemingly Not in Other Leagues?

In a nutshell, his argument is that the benefits of tanking are higher in the NBA and the costs are lower. Seems persuasive to me, but if you are interested, read his full post for the argument.