Is the NBA’s Flopping Epidemic a Players Problem or an Officials Problem?

The NBA can't win for losing. The regular season has a tanking problem ugly enough to require what Rich called an "always sunny in Philadelphia conspiracy theory" of pingpong balls and relegation zones to fix it. The postseason was supposed to be the relief. Instead, flopping has taken over the conversation.

Jaylen Brown called Joel Embiid a big-time flopper. The reaction was that it was sour grapes. Brown then quadrupled down on his own Twitch feed, suggesting some referees needed to be investigated and clearly had an agenda. The agenda line cost him $50,000. Rich's read on the fine: "Jump change." The line that lingered was the one before it. "Every good basketball player does this. What are you all talking about?"

By the next morning, Rich's Threads timeline was overrun with montages of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander flopping. Doris Burke's "free throw merchant" line from a broadcast had spread. "It's so unfortunate because he's so otherwise supremely talented," Rich said. "We're not seeing the other stuff."

The Donovan Mitchell version arrived the same night. Detroit beat Cleveland by ten in Game 1 of their second-round series. Mitchell shot 9 of 19 and went 4 of 10 from the line on only ten attempts. After the game, Mitchell pointed at the larger pattern.

"A friend of mine got fined for talking about flop, so I'm not going to try to double down," Mitchell said. "I'm trying to get downhill, trying to get to the bucket and sometimes I'm fighting through contact and I'm not getting these calls. I don't flop. Maybe that's why."

Rich's question cut to the spine of it. Player problem, or officiating problem? "Do they not see it? Do they not know it? Do they not break down all this film?"

The fix Rich proposed has two parts. First, stop calling it. Second, start fining the offensive flop, not just the defender flaring out for a three-point foul. The current flopping rule, the show noted, lives mostly on the defensive side. The offensive bail-out where a player dribbles into trouble, throws a shoulder, and gets two free throws with no contact is the play killing the product.

The second proposal: let coaches challenge as many times as they want, as long as they keep getting them right. Cap it at five if necessary. Yes, it would extend games. Figure out a way to make the review faster.

Rich brought David Stern into it briefly. The room walked it back. Adam Silver, Rich said, is an excellent steward of the game. Silver doesn't want this either. The MVP of a playoff game shouldn't wake up to a montage in the palm of every fan's hand.

Fair was fair. The same montage included plays where officials kept their whistles down. SGA didn't get to twenty. The free throw line stayed clean. Mitchell took three free throws all night and might have changed the score with better calls or better shooting from Austin Reaves and Marcus Smart.

The close was a question, not a verdict. Do you want Donovan Mitchell saying he isn't getting calls because he refuses to flop? "Have some pride in how you play," Rich said. The conversation, he predicted, is only going to keep blossoming.