By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
The NBA (Competition Committee) is discussing the possibility of implementing a rule that would punish players who flop with a technical foul and a free throw for the opponent, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. This new rule could be tested in the upcoming Summer League tournament.
Such a rule already exists in Europe and FIBA basketball in general. If a referee decides that a player has clearly exaggerated in a contact (or there was no contact at all) with an opponent and flopped to win a foul, the other team gets a free throw and the player receives a technical foul that counts as one of the two that can get the player ejected.
During the 2023 playoff series of his team against the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr actually suggested that the NBA should apply a similar rule to penalize players who flop.
“I think, to me, what I’ve learned coaching in FIBA. There’s a flop rule,” Kerr said. The now USA Basketball head coach was assistant on the team under Gregg Popovich in the 2019 World Cup and 2021 Olympic Games. “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.”
Right now, the NBA punishes flopping with a technical foul but no free throw is rewarded to the opponent. Upon post-game review, players may also receive fines in cases of repeated violations that range from $5,000 (two violations) to $30,000 (five violations).