The NBA Board of Governors on Wednesday voted to permanently implement the in-game flopping penalty as part of the playing rules. The in-game flopping penalty had been adopted on a one-year trial basis for the 2023-24 NBA season.
Under the rule, when a game official calls a flop, the offending player is charged with a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul, and the opposing team is awarded one free throw attempt, which can be attempted by any player who is in the game when the technical foul is assessed. A player cannot be ejected from a game based on flopping violations. Under NBA rules, a player is automatically ejected after being called for two unsportsmanlike technical fouls, but no such rule applies to non-unsportsmanlike technical fouls, which is the designation for a flopping violation.
The NBA Board of Governors also voted to remove overtime scoring from the point differential and total points tiebreakers in the Emirates NBA Cup. The rule change, designed to promote competitive fairness, takes effect for the Emirates NBA Cup 2024, which will tip off on Tuesday, Nov. 12 and culminate with the Championship on Tuesday, Dec. 17.
Point differential and total points scored are the second and third tiebreakers (after head-to-head record in Group Play games) used to determine which teams advance from Group Play into the Knockout Rounds of the Emirates NBA Cup. A team’s point differential will now be “0” in Group Play games that go to overtime, and a team’s total points scored will exclude points scored in overtime.
The permanent use of the in-game flopping penalty and the change to the Emirates NBA Cup tiebreakers were both recommended by the NBA Competition Committee, which consists of players, representatives from the National Basketball Players Association, coaches, governors, team basketball executives and referees.
