Two teams that aren't opposed to losing at this stage of the season will face off in Dallas on Thursday night.
The Dallas Mavericks have won back-to-back games, and while many have given up on any hopes of the team competing in 2026, that win streak might reluctantly continue Thursday as a team even more engulfed by the concept of "tanking" comes to town.
The Mavs host the Sacramento Kings at American Airlines Center at 7:30 p.m. CST on Feb. 26.
Sacramento owns the NBA's worst record at 13-47, and in a season filled with teams making questionable roster management decisions with the hopes of potentially rising in the stacked NBA Draft this offseason, the Kings seem to be the front-runners for the next No. 1 overall pick.
Dallas can't bank on getting lucky again after landing top prospect Cooper Flagg last summer, but the reality that Flagg has emerged into a star just as most predicted, the Mavs' future outlook doesn't look as foggy as it once did. Even still, Dallas, at 21-36, will be monitoring their place up and down the lottery odds as the season draws to a close.
While the Mavericks have stacked two wins after dropping the previous 10, Sacramento has lost 10 of their last 11, most recently getting routed 128-97 by the Houston Rockets. On Monday, they got a win at the Memphis Grizzlies that ended a franchise-record 16-game losing spell.
The Kings, like some other teams have, too, have caught flack online for their seemingly obvious commitment to tanking this season. Sacramento's top players - Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and recently-acquired DeAndre Hunter - have all been shut down with season-ending surgeries just this week alone.
As ESPN points out, "The Kings were winning only occasionally when their veterans were available, and they've now shifted toward a youth movement that has only spiraled their season further."
Injuries have also been a factor recently for the Mavs, with Flagg remaining out because of a left midfoot sprain. He has not played since the team has returned to the court after the All-Star break.
Additionally for Dallas, Kyrie Irving has joined Dereck Lively II as players out for the season as they rehab from major surgeries. Thursday's game also sees two-way wing P.J. Washington be ruled out with a left ankle sprain.
Center Daniel Gafford is listed as doubtful due to right ankle injury management. Each of the Mavs' two-way-contract rookies - Ryan Nembhard, Miles Kelly and Moussa Cisse - are questionable and trade deadline acquisition Khris Middleton (shoulder stinger) has been upgraded to probable.