”– NBA commissioner Adam Silver, on the perception that the 76ers are tanking

"I absolutely don't think any team is trying to lose," Silver said in an interview with ESPN's Andy Katz for "Outside the Lines."

"No player is going out there to lose," Silver continued. "In terms of management, I think there's an absolute legitimate rebuilding process that goes on. It's so hard to win in this league, and it's so complex.

"I think what's happened in the case of Philadelphia — their strategy has been reduced into a tweet. This notion 'be bad to be good.' … When it gets reduced into a headline, I understand the reaction."

The Sixers (2-23) own the worst record in the NBA and have been considered the the team most blatantly tanking in the league.

Philadelphia has acquired talented players with pre-existing long-term injuries (Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid) in each of the past two drafts, almost guaranteeing difficult seasons that result in another trip to the draft lottery while improving the team's chances to land another high draft pick.