New rules in the North American professional basketball league NBA: “flopping“, i.e. a player’s attempt to fake a foul will be sanctioned in the future – and the Coach Challenges are expanded.
Club team owners have waved two rule changes through. Already in the coming season the so-called “flopping” more severe penalties. In addition, coaches can now request a second video review from the referees if their first was successful. Both rule changes had the NBA Competitions Committee, the player, coach, referee, club owner, team manager and representatives of the National Basketball Players Association belong to, proposed to the overall board of team owners. The decisions now made were unanimous.
Possession of the ball and a free throw for the opponent
Above all, the new procedure for “flopping”, which was initially ratified for a trial period, should cause discussions. If referees impose a penalty for such “swallows” in the future, the opposing team gets possession of the ball and a free throw. The referees are not obliged to stop the game in progress to make the decision. Instead, they can wait for the next neutral opportunity to do so.
A player penalized for flopping will be assessed a non unsportsmanlike technical foul. However, this foul is not considered a personal foul and must not lead to disqualification. Referees can penalize both a foul and a flopping offense in the same play. “Flop” violations cannot be reviewed as part of a Trainer Challenge.
Higher penalties for repeat offender
Violations can also be punished after the games have been played after viewing the video images. Fines for such actions are adjusted for technical fouls and start at $2,000, increasing for repeat offenders. Meanwhile, teams still have to use a time-out for a challenge. Without an available time-out, they are unable to challenge.