The NBA is experimenting this summer with issuing technical fouls for flops.
The first was quick to land. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jaden Shackelford earned the honor of being the first player to receive a technical foul for flopping by an NBA official. At least it was in the Summer League.
Shackelford, a sophomore guard from Alabama, signed a 10-piece contract with Oklahoma City as an undrafted rookie last season. He played for the Oklahoma City Blue G League franchise team and is currently part of the Thunder’s Summer League roster.
On Wednesday, he embellished the touch in a game against Summer League side Memphis Grizzlies in Salt Lake City. Or so officials have determined. With 4:49 left in the second quarter, Grizzlies forward Jake LaRavia made contact with Shackelford’s header with his right arm on a drive to the basket. A moment after the contact, Shackelford recoiled and stumbled backwards.
Dannica Mosher didn’t have it. The referee whistled and called Shackelford for a technical foul. Jacob Gilyard then hit a technical free throw to extend Memphis’ lead to 54-38. But was it the right choice?
The replay appears to show that LaRavia made face contact with Shackelford. Shackelford then appeared to attempt to sell the contact in an attempt to secure a call. That’s the kind of behavior the NBA is trying to eliminate with its new flop rule, which for the first time calls for in-game enforcement of flop violations.
The NBA defines a flop as “an attempt to trick referees into calling undeserved fouls or to trick fans into believing the referees have missed a foul by exaggerating the effect of contact with an opposing player.”
Players were previously subject to a loosely enforced escalating fine system for flops. Now they will be given technical fouls for the violations. The system is being used on a trial basis in the Summer League, and owners will vote on whether to implement it full-time at their July 11 meeting.
Wednesday’s technique on Shackelford is the exact type of call to demonstrate the difficulty of application. By the league’s definition of a flop, Shackelford indeed appeared to be attempting to exaggerate “the effect of contact with an opposing player.” At the same time, the contact seemed legitimate, and if it was, officials missed it.
While the new rule admirably tries to discourage the flop, it doesn’t make umpires any better at getting correct block/charge calls.