NBA to test in-game flopping penalty in Summer League
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Brandon Miller of the Charlotte Hornets driving to the basket gets fouled by Justin Gorham of the San Antonio Spurs.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association (NBA) will make its first attempt to crack down on flopping by testing out an in-game penalty during Summer League play, the league announced on Tuesday.
According to the penalty rules, which are proposed for the regular season, a player who commits a flop – currently characterised as players using exaggeration to sell a foul to the game officials – will be given a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul, which does not qualify as a personal foul or lead to an ejection.
The opposing team will be awarded one free throw and possession of the ball.
Officials do not have to stop live play to assess a flopping violation but can wait until the next “neutral opportunity” to take a break to assess the penalty.
The league said these proposed flopping penalty rules will be in effect on a provisional basis during all of the 2023 Summer League games, which began on Monday and will take place over the next two weeks in Sacramento, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.
Since 2012, the league has publicly warned players and/or levied the occasional fine for flops, but there are no specific in-game penalties for flopping. If the league determines a player flopped, a warning is issued, followed by fines that increase with each violation.
When initially determining fines for flopping in 2012, the NBA defined a flop as “an attempt to either fool referees into calling undeserved fouls or fool fans into thinking the referees missed a foul call by exaggerating the effect of contact with an opposing player”.
The NBA board of governors must approve the penalty if it is to take effect for the 2023-24 campaign or subsequent seasons.
Meanwhile, 2023 top draft pick Victor Wembanyama dined with former San Antonio star guard Tony Parker as he prepared for his Summer League debut with the Spurs on Friday.
Jeremy Medjana, an agent for the 19-year-old French prodigy, posted an Instagram photo of Wembanyama and compatriot Parker, a four-time NBA champion with the Spurs, on Sunday. The image showed both men staring at a laptop that Medjana’s caption indicated was showing a video of France’s Under-19 national team.
Spain beat France 73-69 in overtime on Sunday in the Under-19 Basketball World Cup final in Hungary.
Wembanyama had his first training session with the Spurs on Friday, having signed a rookie contract on Saturday and will join the club for the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas – an off-season event giving rookies and free agents a chance to work with new teammates.
The Spurs will begin play without the 2.26m centre with games in Sacramento on Monday and Wednesday.
The Frenchman is expected to take to the court with the Spurs on Friday, when they face Charlotte. REUTERS, AFP
