NBA Cracks Down on Flopping, Officials Cite Increased Calls
A notable increase in flopping fouls was observed during a recent game between the Trail Blazers and Lakers, signaling a potential shift in the league's enforcement of the rule.
The NBA appears to be increasing its enforcement of flopping violations, as evidenced by three such calls in a span of just over one minute during the fourth quarter of the Trail Blazers' 136-129 victory over the Lakers on Tuesday.
Toumani Camara of the Trail Blazers was assessed a flopping foul with 5:06 remaining in the game. Shortly after, Ja Morant received a similar call with 3:49 left on the clock. Ziaire Williams of the Lakers was then whistled for flopping with 3:36 remaining.
Trail Blazers coach Micah Nori highlighted the unusual frequency of these calls, noting that only 27 flopping fouls were called across the entire NBA in the previous season over approximately 2,000 games. "It was great," Nori commented. "There were 27 flops called last year in the NBA in 2,000 basically games total. And [three] of them were called tonight. Good job by the NBA, point of emphasis, great job."
The NBA began fining players $2,000 for flopping violations prior to the 2023-2024 season. Williams has now been called for a flopping foul in two consecutive games, having received one in the Lakers' previous game against the Jazz.
Williams expressed his disagreement with the foul called against him on Tuesday, stating, "If the dude is pushing off me and my body is naturally going waver back, so, I don’t know, I didn’t think I flopped." He finished the game with 11 points, two rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Morant also contested his flopping foul. "I just showed my hands and took a bump in my chest," Morant said. "It ain’t like I fell. I just kept going backwards. It is what it is. I’ll try to appeal it." Morant recorded 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting and added four assists.
Williams addressed his own flopping foul earlier, stating, "Do I agree with it? Not necessarily but I mean it’s the league’s rule, so whatever they say that’s how it goes. I’ll pay my fine. And if I got to flop again to get a win, then that’s what I’ll do. So, I thought I thought it was a good defensive play. But like I said, it is what it is. Sent it to my agent, hopefully we can appeal it and get my money back. But if not, then it is what it is."