The days of NBA players widely exaggerating contact in order to entice a whistle could be a thing of the past.
The NBA’s Competition Committee is discussing in-game penalties for flopping that would result in a technical free throw, according to The Athletic.
Marcus Smart, #36 of the Boston Celtics, shouts out after taking a charging foul against the Dallas Mavericks during the second quarter at TD Garden on November 23, 2022, in Boston, Massachusetts. (Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
Charania added that a trial of the rule is possible at the NBA’s Summer League in July.
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Flopping in basketball has been an issue for years, with players constantly looking to oversell contact in order to trick referees into calling a foul.
It has appeared to become more frequent in previous seasons, with Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr imploring the league to do something about the flop during his team’s playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers.
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“I think, to me, what I’ve learned coaching in FIBA . . . . There’s a flop rule,” Kerr told reporters when discussing Game 4 of the series. “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.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr stands on the side of the court during Game Five of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on April 26, 2023, in Sacramento, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
“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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Nikola Jokic, #15 of the Denver Nuggets, is called for an offensive foul against LeBron James, #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers, during the second half in game four of the Western Conference Finals at Crypto.com Arena on May 22, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. (Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, has a flopping rule that results in a technical free throw.
The NBA does have its own set of anti-flopping rules, though they do not consist of in-game penalties.
The league can fine players for flopping following a postgame video review of the play.
