Flopping is a much-discussed issue in the NBA. It has especially come to a head in the playoffs. A betting platform offered a $1000 giveaway for every time Joel Embiid flopped in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Celtics. Elsewhere, Draymond Green called Jamal Murray "soft" for a flagrant foul called against De'Angelo Russell.
Furthermore, the flopping problem has reached a tipping point for many fans, who see it plus the current epidemic of hair-trigger foul calls to be a combination that could cripple the league. It appears that the league is aware of this, and is considering a new rule to address it. Previously, the league implemented a fine policy ahead of the 2012-13 season.
Flopping Could Soon Earn A Charge
First reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, the league is exploring the possibility of implementing a punishment for flopping. According to Charania, the NBA is considering testing a rule change to implement a technical free throw for the charge of "flopping". Furthermore, this could be tested as early as the Las Vegas Summer League in June.
The proposed change comes a few weeks after Steve Kerr publicly begged the NBA to address the issue. "I think, to me, what I’ve learned coaching in FIBA … There’s a flop rule. If a referee deems a player has flopped, they just call it a technical foul, and it’s pretty penalizing. And so the flopping has basically been eliminated from FIBA, and we have the ability to do the same thing in the NBA if we want. I think we should address it, because the players are so smart, and the entire regular season is about gamesmanship and trying to fool the refs. And this is how it’s been for a while, and it’s up to us as a league. Do we want to fix this? … These are all things that are my personal plea to the NBA. I think we can do better in terms of cleaning up the flopping. In the meantime, I give the Lakers credit for the plays that they’ve been able to sell.”
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