The NBA: where the world’s greatest basketball players come to
showcase their talents and skills. Right? Due to the flop, that
answer has been “EEEEHHHHH!” For hardwood purists, the sport has become a
breeding ground for phony plays that receive applause for embellished
falls to the ground, and provides point-guards with super powers to
physically overwhelm centers with the touch of a pinkie finger. Luckily, the league said “enough!” last year by instituting anti-flopping rules to keep the focus on balling, instead of falling. So in a season that is still in its infant stages, there will be a close eye on how the rule continues to impact the game.
Flopping evolved over the years from it being a single attempt to receive a favorable call from a ref, all the way to it becoming a part of NBA practices edging it closer to a laughable “art.” Up until last year, former head coach and current NBA analyst, Jeff Van Gundy, continuously clowned the league for its lack of effort to put a stranglehold on the matter.
Accounts like that only made an NBA fan wonder how many coaches might have taught flopping, and how much players focused on flopping. Where did Reggie Miller learn to kick his leg out on his smooth jumper only to initiate contact with the defender, and fall oh so helplessly to the ground while his arms flailed in the air like strands of spaghetti? What actor did Vlade Divac take lessons from to sell the idea that he wasn’t 7’0 feet and more than 240 pounds, but was actually as light as a feather and could be plowed over by the likes Muggsy Bogues? This is the type of back-and-forth that plagues every group of friends that love basketball, in barbershops nationwide, and among drunken fanatics at a bar who watch their favorite squad come to their demise, or rise to prosperous levels, due to critical whistles that involve flopping.
Despite the rule being in play, the post-season still brings out low-level tactics just to get the W. Lebron James and David West were both fined $5,000 in the 2013 Eastern Conference finals for hilariously and desperately attempting to draw a foul, only to have the refs look at them like disappointed parents that see their kid doing something they know they shouldn’t be doing.
But in a twisted way, flopping did serve some good. The league would never have had such comedic and “what is going on?” moments to add to history without foolish acting from its players. The flop gave us Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone fumbling, bumbling, and tripping all over themselves in the 98’ Finals. Also, Chris Paul mastered the illusion of a foul by using his small stature to make it seem as if he was run over by a Mack truck from thumb-war like contact, while performing his best fish-out-of-water routine after he hit the deck.
The anti-flopping penalties range from a warning, all the way to $30,000, for both offensive and defensive flopping, and force players to consider if a flop is worth not being able to pop a few more bottles in the club. Furthermore, after six flops, suspensions are handed out. So for all those rebels against the rule, the best suggestion may be to save the flops for the playoffs, or not to be a scrub in order to afford the hefty fine.
-Clinton P. Jackson
