The has had a flopping issue for years and I believe much of the discourse we have seen during this years playoffs, especially between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers is due, in large part, to the league refusing to properly enforce these rules and because its most well-known player made flopping mainstream.
After their Game 7 loss in the first round to the , Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said while streaming, “Flopping has ruined our game,” while calling out former MVP Joel Embiid specifically.Â
After Game 2 between the Thunder and Lakers, which was full of flops once again, Austin Reaves and the entire Lakers team confronted the officials after their 18-point loss. Much of the discussion following the game is about flopping and supposed favorable whistles for the Thunder.Â
ESPNs Jay Williams said, “..the flopping. The foul baiting. The constant manipulation of angles and officiating at times feels less like basketball and more like a legal hustle,” while discussing the issue on his .
Kendrick Perkins, while on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday discussing the Lakers Thunder aftermath, stated, “I hated the way that game was called last night and there was a lot of flopping going on.” Perkins continued, “The NBA has to get back to fining guys for flopping.” Heres the problem: The NBA hasnt done a great job of that in the first place.
The NBA recognized that flopping was an issue over a decade ago. It was ruining the watchability and integrity of the game. Other leagues like the had embellishment penalties, which help stifle the ability to get a cheap power play. NBA players were abusing the system and getting cheap free throws and affecting the flow and outcome of games. The league decided to introduce postgame flop fines in the 2012-13 season where plays were reviewed after games and those individuals were fined for exaggerating contact.Â
Since those fines were introduced through the anti-flopping rule, there has been a shockingly low number of fines. Reports and Spotrac tracking say the total number of publicly documented postgame flopping fines since 2012 is likely somewhere around 100â120 total violations league-wide, including warnings and fines. Thats only 7â8 warnings and fines per season. We see about seven to eight flops per quarter, it seems like.
As for in-game flopping calls, those are exponentially more rare than post game warnings and fines. The NBA does not maintain a fully public official archive of every flopping technical, so most of the data was compiled by independent NBA technical foul trackers and community-maintained logs, which states that approximately 26 in-game flopping technical fouls during the 2023-24 season – the first year of the new live flop-tech rule. Since the first few months of that season, enforcement dropped dramatically, which became a major criticism around the league and online. The NBA later made the rule permanent in July 2024 despite the low call frequency. The only clearly documented 2025-26 flopping fine I could find in SpoTracs database was Malik Monk, who was fined $2,000 for flopping on Dec. 1, 2025.
Adam Silver has been gentle parenting the leagues players for far too long. The officials and the league are refusing to call these technicals in game and clearly have little intention to enforce these rules, so players face consequences for their actions. The inmates are running the asylum. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who ESPNs Doris Burke has called a “free throw merchant” will continue to manipulate the system, as will many of the leagues top stars if the league continues down this road. Its dominating the discussion in-game and online. Silver needs to address this in the offseason and ensure players, teams, media and fans that the league will be making the proper changes and live up to the rules they implemented because they really aren’t rules to these players anymore. Theyre guidelines. Its basically a weak
