The NBA announced on Tuesday that team owners accepted rule revisions that will result in an in-game flopping penalty and an expanded coach’s video replay challenge beginning next season. The Competition Committee of the NBA, comprised of players, coaches, referees, club owners, team executives, and National Basketball Players Association representatives, unanimously recommended both modifications to the full board of team owners.
The new flopping rule, which was implemented on a one-season trial basis, states that when a game official calls a player for a flop – a motion designed to entice a referee foul call on another player – the offending player will receive a technical foul and the opposing team will be awarded one free throw attempt.
A flopping penalty will not result in ejection from a game. Referees will not be forced to stop play to declare a flopping violation, allowing offenses to continue until the game’s next natural break.
On the same play, referees can call both a foul and a flopping violation. While flopping offenses are not subject to a coach’s challenge, they can be called during a referee’s replay review triggered by a coach’s challenge or a referee-initiated replay review of certain types of called fouls. The NBA will continue to investigate post-game flopping, with fines based on technical fouls, starting at $2,000 and climbing for repeat violators.
If a team’s first challenge is successful, the coach’s challenge change provides them with a second task. To initiate a challenge, teams must continue to use a timeout. They would be unable to challenge if a timeout was not provided. Teams can keep the timeout after the first challenge if it is successful, but they cannot keep the timeout used for the second challenge whether it is successful or not.