Suns win tanking sweepstakes, clinch NBA's worst record with loss to Warriors

The tank race has been won. With the Phoenix Suns' 117-100 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, they have guaranteed themselves the worst record in the league, and the best chance at landing the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft. This is the "reward" for what has been one of the most dreadful seasons any team could have.

It was a pretty typical loss this time. Golden State built out to a big lead early behind Klay Thompson's 22 first-quarter points. The Suns only had nine active players on their roster, so they didn't have much flexibility -- not that it would have mattered. As the game went on, the score just became more lopsided. By the fourth quarter, the Warriors led by 20-plus points and the Suns were on their way to their 61st loss of the season.

With teams like the Grizzlies, Hawks, Bulls, Magic, Mavericks and Kings all trying their best to lose this season, it took a truly herculean effort from the Suns to out-tank them all.

Phoenix started off the year by firing its head coach three games into the season. That should have been the first sign of how this slog was going to go, but it somehow got worse from there. The Suns were at one point tied with the rest of the NBA combined in 40-point losses. They currently have the worst offensive rating, defensive rating, and net rating in the NBA. The last team to finish the season ranked last in all those categories was the seven-win 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats.

The Suns have two games left to pull themselves out of the analytics cellar, but they've achieved their goal in this miserable season. They were historically awful, and now they get to reap the benefits.

They just need to hope the ping pong balls fall in their favor.

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