NBA to implement flopping penalty, second coach’s challenge

The flops must stop. 

The NBA Board of Governors voted to implement two new rule changes for the 2023-24 season, according to The Athletic.

The first gameplay change is designed to penalize players for flopping, a tactic that has become increasingly popular across the league, as players attempt to sell contact in hopes of drawing whistles from officials. 

Players who flop — or are called for committing “a physical act that reasonably appears to be intended to cause the officials to call a foul on another player,” the league said — will be given a non-unsportsmanlike technical, which will not count as a personal foul or lead to ejection. But it will give the opposing team a free throw and could lead to a possession change, depending on when it is called.

Officials can choose to stop live play to call a flopping violation, or can wait until the next “neutral opportunity” to do so.

Floppers will be fined $2,000, with fines rising incrementally for repeat offenders. The flopping rule will be on a one-year experiment.

The second gameplay change will center around coaching challenges. 

The challenge rule change is something that coaches have wanted for some time. Coaches who challenge a call and are successful will get the chance to make a second challenge — with one catch. Teams must have a timeout in order to call for a challenge; that timeout would not be retained even if a coach won that first challenge.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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