Video: Bucks' Brandon Knight warned for flopping on Rockets' James Harden
The NBA issued Bucks guard Brandon Knight a warning for flopping on Tuesday.
Knight's flop occurred in the first quarter of Milwaukee's 114-104 road loss to Houston on Jan. 18. With a little less than seven minutes remaining in the first quarter and the Rockets leading 15-12, the 6-foot-3 Knight tried to defend the 6-foot-5 James Harden one-on-one in the post. After absorbing contact once as Harden backed him down, Knight waited for a second round of contact before launching himself backwards to the floor when Harden's right shoulder contacted his chest.
Harden was called for an offensive foul on the play, but replays indicated that the level of contact delivered by Harden was inconsistent with Knight's reaction.
This type of flop was specifically brought up in the NBA’s official video introducing its flopping policy. In the video, Clippers guard Chris Paul was defending a drive before he fell backwards dramatically to the ground as if he had been struck by an elbow.
“As the highlighted defensive player, No. 3 in the red uniform, defends the driving offensive player, he feels slight contact and then launches himself back to the floor,” the video’s narrator explained. “This reaction by the defensive player is an over-embellishment of marginal contact and is intended to draw an unearned offensive foul on his opponent.”
The 10 most ridiculous flops of the 2012-13 season
Knight becomes the 22nd player warned for flopping this season, joining Wizards guard John Wall, Timberwolves forwards Kevin Love and Corey Brewer, Spurs guard Patty Mills, Bucks center Zaza Pachulia, Harden, Knicks guard Iman Shumpert, Clippers guard Chris Paul, Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao, Celtics forward Jared Sullinger, Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, Bobcats guard Gerald Henderson, Warriors forward/center Marreese Speights, Sixers guard Tony Wroten, Bulls forward Taj Gibson, Pistons guard Brandon Jennings, Lakers guard Jodie Meeks, Pacers guard Lance Stephenson, Celtics guard Jerryd Bayless, Rockets forward Chandler Parsons and Heat guard Mario Chalmers.
Harden, Brewer and Stephenson have all been fined $5,000 for incurring second violations.
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.”
