Why the NBA gave referees the power to call flopping

HostIt's funny how a game built for giants can sometimes look like a play on a stage. You see a guy who's nearly seven feet tall fall over like a leaf just because someone brushed his arm. It gets hard to watch when you can't tell what's a real foul and what's just a bit of acting. I have been wondering why the league finally decided to let the refs call those fake falls right as they happen. What was the breaking point that made them give the refs this new power?

GuestIt really came down to the fact that the fans and the people running the teams were just tired of it. For a long time, if a player faked getting hit, which we call flopping, the league would wait until the next day to do anything about it. They would look at the film in an office and then send a letter saying the player had to pay a few thousand dollars as a fine. But if you're making millions of dollars every year, a small fine the next day doesn't really change how you play in the heat of a big game. The league realized that the only way to stop players from faking was to make it hurt their team right then and there on the court.

HostSo instead of a bill in the mail the next day, it's a penalty during the game?

GuestThat's the idea. Now, if a ref sees a player go down without being touched, or if they see someone throw their arms up like they got hit by a truck when they barely got bumped, the ref can blow the whistle for a flop. It counts as what they call a non-unsportsmanlike technical. Basically, that means the other team gets to shoot one free throw, and then they get the ball back. It's a quick way to show that faking will cost your team a point. The league also made a smart choice by saying this specific kind of call doesn't count toward getting a player kicked out of the game. In pro basketball, if you get two normal technical fouls, you're gone. But since they knew it's hard for a ref to be right every single time, they decided a flop call wouldn't lead to a player being sent to the locker room.

HostThat sounds like it could get messy, though. I mean, the game moves so fast. How can a ref really tell if someone actually lost their balance or if they're trying to trick everyone? I would be worried about a ref making a big mistake and punishing a player who really did get knocked down.

GuestThat's the main worry and the biggest point of pushback from the players. A guy might fall down just to protect his knees or because he actually tripped on someone’s foot. The league told the refs to only call the ones that are very clear to the naked eye. They want the stuff where it looks like a bad movie. If a player’s head snaps back two seconds after the play is over, or if they jump backward like they were pushed by a ghost, that's what they're looking for. They also have the power to check the replay in certain cases. If a ref calls a foul on one player, but then they look at the screen and see the other guy was just faking, they can flip the call. It gives them a way to fix a mistake before it sticks.

HostBut doesn't that slow the whole thing down even more? We already have so many breaks for reviews and timeouts.

GuestIt can slow things down, but the hope is that once players know they're being watched that closely, they'll just stop doing it. The league wants the game to have a better flow and a better look. When a player flops, it often stops the play or forces the ref to make a choice that ruins the rhythm of the game. By putting this rule in place, the league is trying to shift the way players think. They want them to focus on making the bucket instead of focusing on how to trick the guy in the striped shirt. In the first year they tried this, we saw a lot of calls early on, and then it started to slow down as players got the message that it wasn't worth the risk anymore.

HostIt sounds like they're trying to clean up the spirit of the game without making the refs the stars of the show.

GuestIt's a tough balance to find. The refs have a lot on their plate already, and now they have to be judges of who's a good actor and who's not. But the goal is to get back to a spot where the best player wins because they played the best, not because they were the best at falling down when a breeze blew by. They want the highlights to be about great dunks and deep shots, not about a guy rolling around on the floor trying to get a free whistle.

HostThe next time a player goes flying across the court, I'll be watching the ref to see if they reach for that whistle to keep the game honest.