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Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers has shared his thoughts on the hot topic of flopping within the NBA, confirming on “The Pat McAfee Show” that this tactic is indeed being “for sure” taught to players.
While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder is frequently spotlighted for allegedly flopping to earn foul calls, Haliburton suggests that this practice extends far beyond just one individual.
“Absolutely, it’s being instilled,” Haliburton remarked on ESPN. “It’s not so much the head coaches, but more about player development. Even before reaching the NBA, it’s something players naturally start to practice. Typically, the top scorers are the ones who earn the most free-throws. They definitely focus on it, even during pickup games, honing their skills to draw fouls. It’s undeniably a component of the sport.”
Concerns about flopping have continued to permeate around the NBA, with Yahoo Sports’ Tom Haberstroh going as far as to do an extensive breakdown of Gilgeous-Alexander’s attempts to sell foul calls.
His report found that Gilgeous-Alexander fell down 51.4 percent of the time when a foul was called.
“I think more times than not there’s embellishing going on, more so than falling over out of nowhere, but does it happen? Of course it happens and it’s talked about, no question,” Haliburton said.
The Pacers star wasn’t the only one to address the flopping issue on McAfee’s show.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver, during his appearance on the Worldwide Leader, made the distinction between trying to embellish contact to draw a foul and trying to trick the officials.
“Even as I sit in the stands at games, players may be falling down, players may be reacting to a call,” Silver said. “But to me, if they’re not fooling the referees, it’s OK.
“Players are taught to sell calls these days.”