Flopping is ruining the NBA and LeBron should take some blame for that

The NBA has had a flopping problem for years, and I believe much of the rhetoric we’ve seen in this year’s playoffs, particularly between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers, is largely due to the league’s refusal to properly enforce these rules and its most well-known player bringing flopping into the mainstream.

“Flopping ruined our game,” Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said during the broadcast following their first-round Game 7 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, specifically calling out former MVP Joel Embiid.

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After the second game between the Thunder and the Lakers, which was full of flops, Austin Reaves and the entire Lakers team appeared before the referees after the 18-point loss. Most of the discussion following the game is about flopping and whistles that were supposed to favor the Thunder.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James watches the second half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images)

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Discussing the issue on social media, ESPN’s Jay Williams said, “…the flop. Foul abuse. The constant manipulation of angles and referees sometimes makes it feel less like basketball and more like a legal hustle.”

“I hated the game being called last night and there were so many flops,” Kendrick Perkins said Friday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” discussing the Lakers Thunder aftermath. “The NBA should return to the practice of penalizing players who fail,” Perkins continued. Here’s the problem: The NBA didn’t do a very good job of this in the first place.

The NBA realized a decade ago that flopping was a problem. It was disrupting the watchability and integrity of the game. Other leagues, such as the NHL, had embellishment penalties that helped stifle the ability to get a cheap power play. NBA players were abusing the system, taking cheap free throws and influencing the flow and outcome of games. The league decided to implement post-game flop penalties during the 2012-13 season, where plays were reviewed after games and people were fined for exaggerating contact.

LeBron James and Luka Doncic walk on the court during Game 5 of the first round of the NBA playoffs between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on April 30, 2025. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Because these penalties were implemented through the anti-flopping rule, the number of penalties was surprisingly low. Reports and Spotrac tracking say the total number of publicly documented post-game flop penalties since 2012 is likely around 100-120 total violations leaguewide, including warnings and fines. That’s only 7-8 warnings and fines per season. It seems like we’re seeing about seven to eight flops every quarter.

As for in-game failure calls, they are exponentially rarer than post-game warnings and fines. The NBA does not maintain a fully public official archive of every failed technical, so most of the data is compiled by independent NBA technical foul trackers and community-maintained logs; These records indicate that there were approximately 26 in-game flop technical fouls in the 2023-24 season, the first year of the new live flop technology rule. Sanctions have dropped dramatically since the first few months of that season, becoming a major criticism around the league and online. The NBA later made the rule permanent in July 2024, despite the lower call frequency. The only clearly documented 2025-26 flopping penalty I could find in SpoTrac’s database was Malik Monk, who was fined $2,000 for flopping on December 1, 2025.

Adam Silver has been gently parenting the league’s players for far too long. The officials and the league refuse to call these technical rules in the game and clearly have little intention of enforcing them, so players face consequences for their actions. Inmates run the asylum. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whom ESPN’s Doris Burke called a “free throw merchant,” will continue to manipulate the system like many of the league’s top stars if the league continues on this path. This is what dominates the in-game and online discussion. Silver needs to address this issue in the offseason and assure players, teams, media and fans that the league will make appropriate changes and follow the rules it has in place because those are no longer rules for these players. These are guidelines. Essentially, this is a weak threat from a parent giving in to their child’s wishes. The players have the league between their fingers. This is a problem.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander carries the ball down the court against the Indiana Pacers during the second half of Game 6 of the NBA Finals on June 19, 2025 in Indianapolis. (Abbie Parr/AP)

It is common knowledge that LeBron James has failed throughout his career. I even wrote a piece calling him (the King of Flopping) and arguing that not only did it tarnish his Hall of Fame career, but it also set a bad example for other players who clearly followed the same path. James may not have been the first franchise to fail in the modern NBA, but I believe he was the one who popularized it.

Did you know that James was only fined ONE TIME for failing? This is it. I can see your face right now. You’re shocked, but maybe some of you don’t think it’s too far-fetched. In every major professional sports league, many of the league’s best players receive more free passes and a favorable whistle than others. Lakers head coach JJ Redick’s claim after Game 2 against OKC that “LeBron has the worst whistle blower of any star player I’ve ever seen” is laughable, unfounded, and emotionally blunt. But we can discuss that another time.

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I firmly believe that flopping is a form of cheating, or at least somehow cheating on the integrity, flow, and watchability of the game. I’ve made this point clearly (I hope). James even admitted that he purposely underachieved in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals; he and the Pacers’ David West were fined for doing so. “Some have been doing this for years, just trying to get an advantage,” James said. “Anyway, if you can gain an advantage over the opponent to help your team win, so be it.” LeBron was doing what SGA and OKC have been doing for over a decade. He set the standard. Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, SGA, Jalen Brunson and many others who were some of the league’s most egregious underachievers became poster boys before they even came into the league. That’s why I believe the league deserves some blame for the mess it’s in. He didn’t make the rules, but I believe he set the standard.

Let’s face the facts. The NBA rewards this style of play, and players know that penalties and discipline will not come, especially for the league’s top stars. That’s the fans’ main complaint, and it’s dominating the discourse in this year’s playoffs.

The league has allowed this for too long. Make the law. Drop the hammer. That’s enough. Otherwise, the league’s reputation will deteriorate further and fans will be less interested in watching and celebrating the league’s best team (the Thunder).