In sports, there’s an old adage: You play to win the game. But what happens when winning is no longer on the table? When the playoffs are out of reach, and a season is all but lost—how do teams play? Do they still fight until the final whistle? Or do they start thinking about the future, about next year’s draft, about self-preservation?
The answers aren’t always straightforward. In fact, they vary widely—by sport, by culture, by team dynamics, and even by individual player motivation. In this blog post, we’ll explore how professional teams navigate the final stretch of a losing season: the strategic tankers, the gritty finishers, the cautious preservers, and the prideful battlers.
The Tanking Temptation
Let’s start with the elephant in the locker room: tanking.
In some leagues, especially the NBA and NFL, the structure of the draft incentivizes poor performance. The worse a team’s record, the higher their draft position—and with it, the chance to land a franchise-changing player. In theory, it makes sense: give the worst teams the best shot at getting better. But in practice, it can lead to a subtle (or not-so-subtle) race to the bottom.
Consider the 2018-2019 New York Knicks. With a roster gutted by injuries and trades, the Knicks slid into a 17-65 record. Rumors swirled that the front office was eyeing Zion Williamson, the projected #1 pick. While no team explicitly tells players to lose, the composition of the roster—trading away veterans, giving minutes to untested rookies—can signal a strategic retreat.
The “Process” era Philadelphia 76ers took this to the extreme. From 2013 to 2016, the Sixers won just 47 games combined across three seasons. But they accumulated draft capital, including Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, and eventually returned to contention. The strategy was controversial, but undeniably deliberate.
Tanking is more feasible in sports like basketball or football, where a single player can dramatically impact a team. It’s less prevalent in leagues like the NHL or MLB, where player development takes longer and draft picks are more of a gamble.
The Fight to the Finish
Not all teams throw in the towel. Many fight to the bitter end, driven by pride, professionalism, and the desire to build momentum for the future.
Take the 2023 Detroit Lions. After starting 1-6, they were written off by most analysts. But head coach Dan Campbell kept the locker room focused. They finished 9-8, just missing the playoffs, but laid the foundation for a strong 2024 campaign. The Lions were fueled by grit, not standings.
Similarly, in MLB, the 2021 Seattle Mariners missed the postseason by a single game, but their 90-72 record down the stretch built excitement and belief in their young core. For these teams, the final months weren’t meaningless—they were rehearsal for a better next act.
In some cases, finishing strong can be a player’s audition. Rookies, fringe players, and veterans on expiring contracts know that every snap, every at-bat, every shift is a chance to prove their worth—to their current team or a future one.
The Culture Factor
Not all sports handle losing the same way. Culture, team history, and even league economics shape how teams play out the string.
In the Premier League, for example, the concept of tanking doesn’t exist in the same way. In fact, the bottom three teams face relegation—a massive financial and competitive penalty. Even mid-table teams with little to play for still have pride, fans, and future sponsorships at stake.
In the NHL, teams often continue to compete hard regardless of standings. Hockey culture prizes toughness, and the physical nature of the game makes mailing it in dangerous—players can’t go half-speed in a sport where collisions are constant. That said, front offices may still trade away assets and “go young,” subtly resetting for the future.
Baseball occupies a middle ground. Because of its long season and developmental focus, struggling teams often use September to evaluate talent. The Oakland A’s, in recent years, have regularly finished out of contention but used late-season games to spotlight young arms and rebuild the farm system.
The Role of Injury and Risk Management
As seasons wind down, injury risk becomes a major factor—especially in contact-heavy sports like football.
In the NFL, star players on bad teams are often shut down in December. Why risk a franchise quarterback or top receiver in a meaningless game? In 2022, the Chicago Bears sat quarterback Justin Fields in Week 18, citing injury risk. They went on to secure the #1 draft pick and later traded it for a haul of picks.
But this caution doesn’t sit well with every player. Many are wired to compete, regardless of the stakes. Coaches must balance competitiveness with long-term health—and sometimes protect players from themselves.
NBA teams also frequently “manage” minutes toward the end of the year. This has drawn criticism, especially when fans pay top dollar to see stars who are resting. But with injuries a constant threat, and draft position looming, teams tread carefully.
Empty Seats, Full Heart
Another quiet reality of a losing season: empty seats.
By late season, when playoff hopes are dashed, attendance often plummets—especially in markets with impatient or fair-weather fanbases. Entire sections of stadiums sit deserted. The energy, the noise, the atmosphere that fuels so many athletes begins to fade.
And yet, the games go on.
In 2023, the Oakland A’s often played in front of fewer than 5,000 fans in a stadium built for 50,000. The echoes were louder than the cheers. In the NFL, teams like the Carolina Panthers or Arizona Cardinals saw home crowds dominated by opposing fans by December. For players, it’s demoralizing—but also clarifying.
With no one watching, who are you playing for?
Some athletes lean into that emptiness. It becomes a test of professionalism, a measure of internal motivation. The best ones dig deep and give everything, even when the stands are half-empty and the scoreboard irrelevant.
For rookies and journeymen, it’s still the biggest stage they’ve ever been on. For veterans, it’s about pride, legacy, or proving they’ve still got something left. Playing to an empty stadium can be lonely—but it can also be liberating. The distractions are gone. All that’s left is the game.
Pride, Identity, and the Human Element
Beyond strategy and stats, there’s the matter of pride.
Most professional athletes didn’t get where they are by accepting losing. Even on struggling teams, players compete fiercely—if not for wins, then for dignity, for each other, and for the fans.
Take the 2021 Houston Texans, who were widely considered the worst team in the NFL. They still beat the Chargers in Week 16, a playoff-hopeful team, with a roster of backups and practice-squad players. Why? Because they’re pros. Because no one wants to be embarrassed. Because winning still feels better than losing, even if it doesn’t “mean” anything.
Coaches, too, use these moments to build culture. A strong finish, even in a lost season, can set the tone for the next. The Arizona Diamondbacks, for instance, closed out a rough 2022 by giving young players experience and building chemistry. They surprised the league with a deep playoff run in 2023.
Fans notice too. While everyone loves a championship, there’s a special kind of loyalty forged in bad seasons—when players hustle in spite of the odds, when a team gives fans a reason to believe next year will be better.
Conclusion: Beyond the Scoreboard
The end of a losing season is a strange and revealing time in sports. It exposes a team’s culture, a player’s mindset, and a front office’s long-term plan. Some teams tank strategically. Others fight to the finish. Some protect their stars; others unleash their youth. The games may be meaningless in the standings, but they are rich with significance.
Because sports, at their core, aren’t just about winning. They’re about effort, growth, storylines, and belief. A team’s final games often say more about who they are than who they were.
And sometimes, playing hard in front of an empty stadium takes more character than performing under the lights of a sold-out crowd.
In a world obsessed with titles and trophies, there’s still honor in playing hard when no one’s watching, in giving everything when nothing’s on the line. That’s the soul of sports—and it shows up in the final, forgotten weeks of every losing season.
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