Video: NBA warns Wizards' John Wall for flopping vs. Pistons
Wizards guard John Wall scored 20 points in his 2013-14 debut. (Allen Einstein/Getty Images)
The NBA announced Thursday that Wizards guard John Wall has been issued a warning for flopping.
Wall's flop occurred with a little more than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Washington's 113-102 road loss to Detroit on Wednesday night. With Detroit leading 105-98, Wall leaned into Pistons forward Kyle Singler as he dribbled the ball up the court. Wall then flailed in response to the contact, throwing his arm up in the air as he fell to the ground and briefly losing control of the ball. He eventually recovered possession and passed off to a teammate. No foul was called on the play.
Video of the sequence can be seen below or on NBA.com.
http://youtu.be/_MQf7BGRkPI
This type of flop was specifically called out in the NBA’s official video introducing its flopping policy. In the video, Spurs guard Tony Parker was fouled on a drive but unnecessarily sent himself flying to the ground.
“The highlighted offensive player will draw a legitimate defensive foul on the drive but he subsequently over-embellishes the contact by flailing his arms and spinning to the floor,” the video’s narrator explains. “This over-embellished action is inconsistent with the level of contact and the direction of the contact.”
RELATED: The 10 most ridiculous flops of the 2012-13 season
The fourth-year point guard becomes the first player warned by the league during the 2013-14 season. No warnings were handed out during the 2013 preseason.
Instituted before the 2012-13 season, the NBA's anti-flopping system provides one free warning to players before they are subjected to a scaling set of monetary fines.
- Violation 1: Warning
- Violation 2: $5,000 fine
- Violation 3: $10,000 fine
- Violation 4: $15,000 fine
- Violation 5: $30,000 fine
- Violation 6: Subject to discipline reasonable under the circumstances, including an increased fine and/or suspension
The NBA assigned 24 flopping violations to 19 different players on 13 different teams during the 2012-13 regular season. Five players received two infractions each, earning fines totaling $25,000, with zero players getting dinged three or more times.
During the 2013 playoffs, the NBA removed the free warning and began assessing fines. Although commissioner David Stern said that the league's current policy "isn't enough" to curb the practice, the league did not adopt any changes to the policy during the offseason.
The NBA defines flopping as "any physical act that, following review, reasonably appears to be intended to cause the game officials to call a foul on another player" with the “primary factor” in determining a flop being whether “a player’s physical reaction to contact with another player is inconsistent with what would reasonably be expected given the force or direction of the contact.”
Wall finished with 20 points (on 8-for-21 shooting), 11 assists and three steals in 39 minutes on Wednesday night. Washington will continue its regular season schedule against Philadelphia on Nov. 1.
