Video: Timberwolves' Kevin Martin warned for flopping against Blazers
The NBA issued Timberwolves guard Kevin Martin a warning for flopping on Monday.
Martin's flop occurred in the fourth quarter of Minnesota's 115-104 road loss to Portland on Jan. 15. With a little more than nine minutes remaining in regulation and the Blazers leading 91-84, Martin lined up a three-pointer from the top of the arc.
After releasing the shot, which was contested by CJ McCollum, Martin stumbled on his descent and launched himself backwards to the court. Replays indicated that there was no contact between McCollum and Martin on the play, making Martin's reaction an unnatural attempt to draw a three-shot foul. The shot was no good, the referees did not call a foul on the play, and action continued the other way.
This type of flop was specifically brought up in the NBA’s official video introducing its flopping policy. In the video, Heat guard Dwyane Wade is singled out for exaggerating contact to his leg during his jump shot.
“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.”
Although this is his first flopping policy violation of the season, Martin was previously warned and fined for similar flops during the 2012-13 season.
The 10 most ridiculous flops of the 2012-13 season
Martin becomes the 23rd 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, Rockets guard James 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, Heat guard Mario Chalmers and Bucks guard Brandon Knight.
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.”
