There’s a scene that replayed itself again and again throughout final spring’s thrilling Western Convention semifinal sequence between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder.
The script went like this: Luka Dončić would drive into some contact from Luguentz Dort, Dort would go down, and Dončić would flip to the official and instantly ask for a technical foul for flopping. Typically he’d put his palms collectively for a technical foul sign. Typically he’d have his palm flat to the ground, lifting it up and down — the official sign for a flopping violation. One time, he and Kyrie Irving managed to synchronize their requests (see second clip under):
Both approach, Dončić’s intention was clear: He thought a technical foul ought to have been referred to as for flopping.
Dort wasn’t referred to as for a single flopping violation in that sequence, though he’s among the many uncommon few to have been whistled for it this season. (Dončić wasn’t precisely harmless when it got here to over-embellishment in that sequence, both.)
However the truth Dort wasn’t whistled, even when he was doing what most followers would contemplate flopping, isn’t flawed.
And as we flip towards one other playoff season the place this subject will doubtless come up once more — probably between the identical two gamers — we have to speak concerning the league’s flopping guidelines. Particularly, we must always talk about how in-game whistles and postgame fines for flopping violations have all however vanished this season, and why that’s.
Let’s begin right here: It seems that, with regards to officiating a basketball sport, the definition of “flopping” is barely totally different from the one we would casually use to explain a chunk of foul-drawing artistry.
The mere act of Dort or Marcus Good or some other defender falling down on a play that isn’t a foul doesn’t robotically make it a tech-worthy flop within the eyes of the NBA. Furthermore, the league doesn’t need to be within the enterprise of constructing distinctions on this high-quality a line; what it needs is to eradicate probably the most egregious acts.
To that finish, the NBA got here up with two totally different mechanisms earlier than the 2023-24 season to punish flopping: a non-unsportsmanlike* technical foul that may be whistled on the spot, and a $2,000 high-quality that may be administered after the actual fact if a name was missed throughout the sport. (The high-quality changed a earlier mechanism for administering after-the-fact flopping violations.)
(* — Non-unsportsmanlike technical fouls, equivalent to these for flopping, delay of sport or hanging on the rim, don’t rely towards the entire of two that will get a participant robotically ejected.)
The preseason and starting of the common season in 2023-24 noticed a surfeit of those calls, however they steadily light because the yr went on. Primarily based on a search of Spotrac’s fines and suspensions database, there have been eight flopping fines handed out within the first week of 2023-24 and 22 within the first half of the season, however solely 4 after Feb. 1. (Just one participant was fined greater than as soon as for this final season, and it wasn’t Dort or Dončić or Good or Dillon Brooks. It was … Collin Sexton?)
Nonetheless, in 2024-25, the high-quality has diminished to almost nothing. We’ve solely had 5 the complete season, with solely probably the most egregious dives warranting motion from Joe Dumars’ workplace. (These fines are made in session with the officiating aspect, by the best way.)
The technical fouls have adopted the same, albeit much less excessive sample. They spiked within the first two weeks of 2023-24 however from that time had been administered a bit extra evenly all through the season. Dort was flagged thrice, though two had been rescinded after the actual fact, and Good and Brooks had been flagged twice. San Antonio’s Blake Wesley even picked up a tech for flopping in Recreation 81.
This was at all times designed to be a comparatively uncommon penalty, reasonably than to “A-ha!” any participant with the temerity to fall down after one thing lower than bulldozer contact. The league’s big-picture goal was to get probably the most egregious appearing out of the sport. With that in thoughts, the league has a really particular definition of what constitutes a tech-worthy flop. It calls the standards “STEM” which stands for secondary, theatrical, exaggerated actions.
“STEM is,” mentioned Monty McCutchen, the league’s senior vice chairman, head of improvement and coaching for referee operations, “there’s contact, after which there’s a response, after which there’s a pause and one other response, so secondary.
“After which there’s theatrical and exaggerated actions. A number of the indicators of which might be: Are there a number of rollovers? Is there a big distance lined that isn’t equitable to the contact? Is the response according to the quantity of contact that was taken? If these issues will not be met, then secondary, theatrical and exaggerated actions ought to be penalized with a flopping violation.”
Right here, let’s have Zach Collins reveal.
A few small components have considerably restricted enforcement. First, different issues being equal, the league would reasonably make the other error of imposing flopping too frivolously reasonably than too harshly. Penalizing any person for a tech who didn’t flop seems like a extra egregious officiating failure than failing to name a flop on any person who did.
Second, it does require an adjustment in how officers watch performs — imposing flopping could require them to maintain their eyes on a participant lengthy after the ball has modified sides of the ground. At instances, which may not be the largest precedence.
Regardless, these techs — already comparatively uncommon by spring 2024 — are as widespread as dodo birds throughout the 2024-25 marketing campaign. For that, now we have one other issue to contemplate: the gamers themselves. As we see practically each October, they regulate shortly to guidelines modifications and factors of emphasis.
“It is determined by whether or not or not you consider the referees have stopped calling it or the gamers have stopped doing it,” Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder mentioned. “I believe with NBA gamers, they’re so good they usually react so shortly … (I) suppose it’s true in a given sport, if there’s one thing you are feeling that evening {that a} sport is being referred to as a sure approach, guys have to regulate. I do suppose a few of these performs, it’s good that they’ve centered on them and tried to reduce them.”
Simply in case there may be any misunderstanding, the league has put out two totally different factors of emphasis movies on this subject because the begin of the brand new yr, one in January and one in late February.
For the TL;DR crowd, the final clip within the second missive is the one that individuals have to see and perceive. Simply because a participant meets the colloquial definition of “flopping” doesn’t imply it warrants a technical foul. If a participant falls down, it’s high-quality so long as he doesn’t make a vaudeville present out of it.
I’ve taken that play individually and clipped it under. The Philadelphia 76ers’ Paul George takes minor contact from the Denver Nuggets’ Christian Braun and goes down, attempting to attract a cost. The ref isn’t shopping for it, however that doesn’t imply it warrants a flopping tech: George met not one of the STEM standards.
Nonetheless, the flip aspect of the comparatively uncommon flopping violations is that it has solely made coaches and gamers saltier on the uncommon events when it’s referred to as.
“It’s a ceremonial rule, that’s how I might put that,” Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder coach Mark Daigneault mentioned. “To be particular, when Dort bought a flop towards Boston within the third quarter of a 1-point sport, after which he bought one other towards Dallas (12 days) later, we appeared it up, and on the time, they’d referred to as 10 flops all season … so that you’d have to observe (practically) 100 video games to see a flop.”
These two techs towards Dort in a interval of 12 days appeared to point out each side of the difficulty. The primary, towards Boston on Jan. 5, fairly clearly shouldn’t have been referred to as, based mostly on the league’s said normal.
The second was on Jan. 17, and whereas not within the exalted territory of Collins’ pirouette above, it doubtless warranted a name based mostly on the STEM standards. Eight months later, the Mavs lastly bought the whistle they requested for.
“What I would like is, if they are saying that is going to be the rule and we’re going to implement it, for them to only execute on that as a result of then we all know what to anticipate, and we will regulate,” Daigneault mentioned. “However once they put a rule in, they usually simply get disinterested or they stray away from that, it’s very tough for us to adapt to that.
“So I don’t care what their guidelines are, but when they’re going to place it in, they usually say this can be a flop, name it on all people.”
Let’s take that speaking level and switch the dialogue again towards the massive image. Are the refs anticipating this as intently as they had been in October 2023? And is a discount in enforcement ensuing within the extra egregious acts of flopping creeping again into the sport?
On each metrics, the league feels fairly good about the place issues stand.
“We’re down drastically in each (techs and fines)” McCutchen mentioned. “There is no such thing as a inner pullback from it, let me put it that approach. For the referees themselves, if we’re lacking this normal, it goes within the web site (and) we present them, ‘That is one that ought to have been gotten.’
“One of many markers we’re utilizing internally is: Are we seeing flopping coming again into the sport at the next stage as a result of we’re down (on calls)? We’re actually proud of the place issues are at within the league proper now by way of flopping.”
In the end, as an outsider to all this, loads of this appears barely unsatisfying. We’ve all seen examples of pretty egregious flops that don’t meet the STEM standards, however we’d be very happy to see them eradicated from the sport.
Sadly, it additionally looks as if that is the most effective place the league realistically can get to. Relating to considerably boosting enforcement on this entrance, there’s an excellent likelihood the treatment is worse than the illness. No person needs gamers who had been legitimately fouled to get a technical foul on high of a missed name.
The result’s that maybe no one is completely proud of this — followers, gamers or coaches. However the NBA has superior the ball by eliminating probably the most egregious flops by instituting a rule that — thanks partly to the gamers’ on-court changes — now hardly ever requires enforcement.
Is that ok? It looks as if it now, however keep in mind: Guidelines see their biggest stress assessments when the stakes are highest. With Dort’s Thunder and Dončić’s Lakers holding two of the highest three seeds within the Western Convention, the flopping dialogue appears unlikely to fade this spring.
(Illustration: Will Tullos / The Athletic; high images: Harry How, Noah Graham / Getty Pictures)