It came as no surprise that all-business, no-nonsense Gregg Popovich refrained from entering the fray when asked to comment on the NBA’s new anti-flopping initiative.
“I don’t think about it too much,” he said Thursday, and that’s very likely true. This is, after all, a man whose life philosophy can be summed up by one of his favorite phrases: Get over yourself.
He is very much in the minority, however, as evidenced by this massive list of comments compiled by .
Some of the standouts:
Tyson Chandler — ‘There are a lot of guys in the league that are in trouble.”
Kobe Bryant — “Shameless flopping, that’s a chump move.”
Anderson Verejao — “I’m not flopping anymore. I used to flop a little bit.”
Metta World Peace — “It’s the NBA Finals, a new lady is watching and never saw basketball, she sees (flopping) and wonders, ‘What is that?’ She won’t watch the game anymore.”
Whether you like it, hate it or, in Popovich’s case, don’t really care, it is here to stay — at least until January, when most of the NBA’s previous disciplinary crusades seem to have petered out.
Interestingly, it’s Tony Parker, and not Manu Ginobili, who was selected by the NBA to the type of offensive over-embellishment that will (supposedly) no longer be tolerated.
Other examples were provided by Reggie Evans, Dwyane Wade, Josh Smith, and of course, Chris “The Human Tornado” Paul.
In case you missed it, check out on just how difficult it is to catch flop master in the act, even after the fact.