Indie Sleaze and Pick ‘n’ Roll Dreams: Ritt Momney’s “THE TANK”

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had this weird fascination about the seemingly symbiotic relationship between indie rock and NBA sickos. Is it something about the meticulousness of J Mascis’ riffs and the intricate nature of the triangle offense that draws these people together? I don’t know for sure, but what I do know is it has become more and more apparent in recent years.

I see Hangover Game by current indie royalty MJ Lenderman, Bon Iver having a pickup basketball tournament as part of his most recent album rollout or most recently Ritt Momney’s dreamy and cosmic track, “THE TANK,” highlighting the Utah Jazz’s recent foray into intentional losing in order to build a championship-level team. It’s clear to me that the love affair between basketball and indie music is stronger than ever.

I recently had a chance to talk to Jack Rutter (AKA Ritt Momney) as he preps for the first leg of his tour in support of his latest album, BASE. Rutter, who was speaking from their rehearsal space at Metro Music Hall, and I had an in-depth discussion about indie rock’s relationship to basketball, his song “THE TANK” and his view of the Jazz’s prospects in the coming years, while fruitlessly trying to come up with a solution to the pervasive problem of tanking in the NBA.

Indie rock has the swag of the NBA

When pressed on why indie rockers have a close affinity with the NBA, Rutter finally came to the conclusion that it’s the swag. Both are fashion-conscious. Virtually anyone with an Instagram account has seen the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or former Jazzman Jordan Clarkson walk the tunnel like a model in Paris or New York Fashion Week (something Clarkson has actually done during the Fall ‘25 Kith show).

On the other side of the coin, we have the resurgence of “indie sleaze” among the fashion-forward, which is a combination of both glam and grime that was popular from the mid-2000s to the early 2010s and associated with bands like The Strokes, LCD Soundsystem and MGMT.

But those aren’t the only connections Rutter noted. Other leagues like the NFL or NHL lean more conservative, while the NBA and its fanbase are more artistic and creative (see: NBA Twitter on any given night).

Origins of “THE TANK”

Up until recent years, Rutter was just a casual fan of the Jazz, but that fandom became more serious in the years following the pandemic, right as the Jazz were breaking up its core of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Many diehards questioned the move as Gobert was a three-time defensive player of the year and Mitchell was rounding into a top-10 player in the league. The problem was that core had delivered two second-round exits and didn’t seem like it could handle faster wings on the outside.

Enter Danny Ainge, architect of the Celtics’ tank, which netted them Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in two consecutive drafts and ultimately an NBA championship in 2024. For the Jazz, after four long years and the worst record in the season, it looked like fortune was turning, until the ping pong balls didn’t bounce in their favor. The Dallas Mavericks, who traded away Luka Dončić to the hated Los Angeles Lakers, ultimately got the top pick and the right to draft another generational player in Cooper Flagg.

And that’s where the track begins with the line, “Blow it up for Cooper…” Welp, that didn’t work, so now, “Go again, we’re trying for AJ” in reference to BYU star AJ Dybantsa, a consensus All-American and fan favorite across the state.

Where “THE TANK” gets into the weeds of the strategy is when it talks about, “…taking Cody [Williams] out, he’s heating up, putting Isaiah [Collier] in, he can’t buy one, Cody needs some time, but he could pan out.” For those not following the Jazz’s abysmal season (currently last in the West and holding the fourth-best lottery odds), the team has been penalized for attempting to lose on purpose, but with the benefit of getting players like Williams or Collier extended minutes in games that “matter.”

But according to Rutter, they’re just using a framework that has been successful in the past and isn’t technically against the rules.

“It feels like we’re playing by the rules,” Rutter said. “[Our tanking] has been pretty egregious at times, but what’s the difference between a team not playing their starters at all versus us pulling our starters in the fourth quarter? Obviously, it’s a slippery slope, but it’s not against the rules yet, even if it‘s detrimental to the league.”

Following a proven blueprint

In the last three years (years when Utah also held high lottery picks), the San Antonio Spurs have built a young core of generational superstars: Victor Webanyama (drafted first overall in 2023), Stephon Castle (drafted fourth overall in 2024), and Dylan Harper (drafted second overall in 2025). The end result is the core of a team that is set to challenge for the championship for the next decade or more.

Compare that to the Jazz who picked Taylor Hendricks ninth in 2023 (traded to Memphis for Jaren Jackson Jr), rising star Keyonte George (drafted 16th overall in 2023), Brice Sensabaugh (drafted 28th overall in 2023), Williams, Collier and Kyle Filipowski (10th, 16th, 29th and 32nd, respectively in 2025) and finally, Ace Bailey who went fifth in 2025.

Notice the difference between those drafts? The Jazz got solid role players and NBA starters, but no one who could rise to the superstar level — and San Antonio seems to have gotten two, maybe three of those types of players.

Is the draft rigged?

I bring all this up to say, “Is the draft rigged?” Ever since the first draft lottery in 1985 when Patrick Ewing miraculously went to the New York Knicks (via the frozen envelope theory), there have been whispers of the league pushing players to specific markets. Take last year, for example. The Dallas Mavericks did the league’s premier franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers, a solid by sending them one of the best players in the league for a package that, in hindsight, was practically nothing. Their reward: Cooper Flagg. It’s a pretty good deal for them when you think about it.

But now’s the year, maybe, that behind-the-scenes Voodoo goes the Jazz’s way. Another thing the NBA loves is a good story. In the past, hometown heroes like LeBron James and Derrick Rose were drafted No. 1 by their hometown teams. The NBA has the opportunity to do something great and send Dybansta, who played his final high school season at Utah Prep and his college ball at BYU in Provo, to Utah.

“Honestly, I feel proud and grateful that the team has taken this approach because the way the league is set up now, it’s the only way for the Jazz to achieve that ultimate goal of winning a championship,” Rutter said. “And over the course of this season, we’ve seen glimpses of what that championship team might look like. It’s fun to have that radical, competitive mindset where it’s championship or bust.”

The future is bright

When thinking about theoretical lineups that consist of Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson, Rutter got a little giddy, especially at a backcourt of Keyonte George and Peterson.

“I think he’s been NBA-ready since high school and has probably just been going through the motions in college because he has to be there,” Rutter opined. “But I also think AJ has an insanely high ceiling. We’re kind of spoiled with all the choices available at the top of the draft.”

But it’s not just the Jazz whose future is bright. Ritt Momney’s latest release BASE has received mostly positive reviews across the board, and the band is set to head on a world tour with a stop at Kilby Block Party along the way.

Base is available on all streaming services, and you can catch upcoming tour dates on the band’s website.

Read more about Ritt Momney:
Local Review: Ritt Momney – Base
Episode #365 – Ritt Momney