Examining the NBA’s new in-game flopping penalty: Will it work?

The NBA has finally had enough
of its players flopping.

Starting next season, officials
will have the power to call a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul on
a player who flops, meaning players can’t be ejected for flopping.
The call will be made during a neutral possession and the opposing
team will be rewarded a free throw, followed by the game
resuming.

What could go wrong?

The rule will definitely be met
with some opposition from players and fans, especially since it
will slow down the game. In fact, we already saw this happen during
NBA Summer League, where the league tested out the new in-game
flopping penalty.

On July 6, Golden State Warriors
guard Lester Quinones became the first player to earn a technical for
flopping. While playing against the Sacramento Kings in the
California Classic Summer League, Quinones made a three over a
defender, but attempted to sell the contact by falling to the
ground. The shot went in and there was no call. The Kings proceeded
to have a possession and when the Warriors got the ball back and
brought it up just past half-court, that’s when the technical for
flopping was called. Play stopped, the official made the
announcement, and the free throw commenced.

This was not well received by
those in attendance.

Fans immediately booed, players
were clearly annoyed and even the commentators were unsure of what
happened. Kings guard Jordan Ford made the free throw and play
resumed, with the Warriors getting the ball back.

The NBA clearly wants to get
flopping under control for good, so it makes sense that they are
trying a new approach. However, any rule that slows down the game
even more is likely to be rejected by the fans, and understandably
so. With challenges and replays being implemented over the last few
years, the game has slowed down quite a bit, especially toward the
end of games. 

While challenges and replays are
appreciated by most fans because they want to see the right call
even if it means slightly slowing things down, this flopping rule
may not be as well received. It does not feel as important as, say,
a tough out-of-bounds call or whether a player was flagrantly
fouled. Flopping is frustrating to watch, yes, but we’ll see
whether fans view this as a solution or part of the
problem.

Will the new anti-flopping rule
even work? It remains to be seen.

This isn’t the first time that the NBA has tried
to remove flopping from the game. Back in 2012, the league introduced fines as a
way to penalize floppers. After one warning, players would be fined
$5,000 for their second flop, $10,000 for their third flop, $15,000
for their fourth flop and $30,000 for their fifth flop. A sixth
offense could result in a suspension. 

Under the NBA’s new rule, fines
for flopping will start at $2,000 (to match all other
technical-foul fines), and the fines will still “increase
incrementally for repeat offenders.” 

Next season, we’ll see if
players are less likely to flop when it hurts their team as opposed
to just their wallet. And it’ll be interesting to see what fans
think of the league’s new anti-flopping approach.
If the reaction is similar to what
we saw from fans during NBA Summer League, this new rule could be a
flop.