NBA Flopping Fines Rare Despite Playoff Complaints from Brown, Reaves and Perkins

The NBA has struggled with flopping for years, a problem highlighted in this year's playoffs, particularly in games between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers. The league's failure to enforce anti-flopping rules strictly has fueled much of the debate, especially since its biggest stars have normalized the practice.

After the Boston Celtics lost Game 7 of their first-round series to the Philadelphia 76ers, guard Jaylen Brown said during a stream, "Flopping has ruined our game," and singled out former MVP Joel Embiid.

After Game 2 between the Thunder and Lakers, which featured numerous flops, Austin Reaves and his Lakers teammates confronted officials following their 18-point defeat. Postgame talk centered on flopping and perceived favorable calls for the Thunder.

ESPN's Jay Williams posted on social media, "..the flopping. The foul baiting. The constant manipulation of angles and officiating at times feels less like basketball and more like a legal hustle."

On Friday's "The Pat McAfee Show," discussing the Lakers-Thunder game, Kendrick Perkins said, "I hated the way that game was called last night and there was a lot of flopping going on." He added, "The NBA has to get back to fining guys for flopping."

The NBA first tackled flopping over a decade ago, recognizing it hurt the game's watchability and integrity. Leagues like the NHL use embellishment penalties to prevent cheap power plays. NBA players had been exaggerating contact to gain free throws, disrupting game flow and results.

The league introduced postgame flop fines in the 2012-13 season, reviewing plays after games. Since then, publicly documented fines and warnings total around 100-120 league-wide, or seven to eight per season. Flops appear far more often, roughly seven to eight per quarter.

In-game flopping technical fouls are even rarer. Independent trackers report about 26 such calls in the 2023-24 season, the first year of live flop technicals. Enforcement fell sharply after the early months, drawing criticism. The NBA made the rule permanent in July 2024 despite low usage. The only documented 2025-26 flopping fine in SpoTrac's database was $2,000 to Malik Monk on Dec. 1, 2025.

LeBron James has flopped throughout his career and received just one flopping fine. During the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals, he and Pacers forward David West were fined. James said, "Some guys have been doing it for years, just trying to get an advantage." He added, "Anyway you can get an advantage over the opponent to help your team win, so be it."

Lakers coach J.J. Redick claimed after Game 2 against Oklahoma City, "LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I've ever seen."

Flopping dominates in-game and online talk. The NBA has issued few penalties, especially to top players, rewarding the behavior and prompting fan complaints throughout these playoffs.