Bruce Jenkins: Lakers lose for winning.

The Warriors wrap up the regular season at Oracle Arena on Wednesday night against the Lakers and, as usual, head coaches Steve Kerr and Luke Walton will have a nice reunion.

The man Walton really needs to see, though, is Mark Jackson. Now a man who knows about tanking.

The Lakers haven’t a clue. With a five-game winning streak, including Tuesday night’s victory over New Orleans, they assured themselves of the third-worst record in the NBA, when they really need to be the second-worst — behind Phoenix, with Brooklyn clearly at the bottom. As it is, say the pundits of probability, they have less than a 50 percent chance of drawing a top-three pick in the lottery and retaining that draft choice, instead of giving it to Philadelphia as well as their own first-round pick to Orlando in 2019.

(If the Lakers do get lucky, their 2018 first-round pick goes Los Angeles if the Lakers blow their chance at a top-three pick and gain no ground in their rebuilding process.

Five years ago at this time, with Jackson in his first season coaching the Warriors, a classic tank job was in progress. The Warriors had to finish among the league’s seven worst teams to retain a lottery pick, or it would go to Utah as residue of the Monta Ellis deal. The Warriors were a deeply flawed team, but Jackson didn’t fool around. The Warriors lost 17 of their last 20, and on the season’s final day, in a loss to San Antonio, Klay Thompson was surrounded by Chris Wright, Jeremy Tyler, Charles Jenkins and Mickell Gladness in the starting lineup.

The result: The Warriors had the seventh-worst record, they drew the No. 7 pick, and it turned out to be Harrison Barnes, an absolutely crucial acquisition.

It’s such distasteful business, and when you think about it, why the Lakers’ players want to finish strong? What the hell do they care about Lonzo Ball, Markelle Fultz or whomever else the team could land with a top-three selection? This is a roster full of young players out to better themselves, not peer into the future. There’s a certain nobility to their stance, and perhaps they’ll have a chance to strike it rich in the draft, as well. That would be fitting. Elsewhere: It sounds as if injured Portland center Jusuf Nurkic would run the risk of a setback if he returns to the lineup for Game 1 against the Warriors. If that’s the case, the Blazers should forget about playing him in Oakland. They’re going to lose both of those games, no matter who’s on the floor. Save Nurkic for Games 3 and 4 in Portland, where they’ll have a chance to get back into the series.

There’s little debate about the top four MVP candidates: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard. The clear-cut No. 5, at least from this viewpoint: Stephen Curry.

Think about it: Curry orchestrates one of the most proficient offenses in NBA history, his passing as brilliant as his repertoire of shots. Who else could do it that well? Not Westbrook or Harden — no chance. No other point guard in the league, in fact. Curry is out of the MVP running, but he shouldn’t need a telescope to see the leaders.

For reasons well beyond common sense, the NBA and Major League Baseball have yet to identify the proper setup for postseason awards. The MVP should reward the best player on the best team, or certainly a top contender. Where’s the Player of the Year award to honor the flat-out best performance? If there had been justice in 1974-75, the MVP would have been the Warriors’ Rick Barry, not Bob McAdoo, whose season had Player of the Year credibility.

This season, the best player is Westbrook; nobody can even fathom what he’s doing. The MVP is Harden, who (along with head coach Mike D’Antoni) has transformed the Houston Rockets from a bickering, sad-sack bunch to a major postseason threat. Or maybe it’s Leonard, or James. In any case, both sports should learn to spread the wealth.