The NBA’s floppers will have more to contend with this year than the slim possibility of a nominal fine and a few hours of ridicule on social media.
As part of an effort to enhance gameplay, the NBA’s competition committee in July adopted guidelines that enable referees to assess a technical foul to a player who attempts to deceive them into calling a foul. This initiative follows steps to punish “non-basketball plays” — such as foul-baiting by lunging into a defender — and cut down on the number of “take fouls” that interrupt transition scoring opportunities.
Flopping has been an aesthetic scourge for years, and the NBA’s strategy for curbing it has evolved. In 2012, then-commissioner David Stern instituted an anti-flopping program that included the announcement of violations, video distribution of offending plays and escalating fines for…
