[Source](https://theathletic.com/4886754/2023/09/21/nba-rule-changes-flopping-second-challenge/)
##### S.T.E.M. Explained
> Arms waving. Body falling. Butt scooting on the floor, as though he had been on the wrong end of a moving truck, even though Harden didn’t touch him. According to a league rule change, Smart’s theatrics, more commonly known as a “flop,” will be called as a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul during the upcoming season, Monty McCutchen, senior vice president of referee development and training, said Thursday.
> **As McCutchen explained, the referees have come up with an easy-to-remember acronym to help all involved understand the way flops should be regulated: S.T.E.M.**
>**Secondary … Theatrical … Exaggerated … Movements.**
>** To put it more plainly, reactions to contact that are secondary/theatrical/exaggerated movements will be identified as flops.**
##### Defining Exaggerations
>In terms of “exaggeration,” McCutchen shared three identifiers of flops.
> * **Considerable distance traveled by flopping player**
> * **Excessive flailing of limbs** (e.g., “double arm circles”)
> * **Potential to have injured another player as a result of having flopped**
> “The only thing that’s changed is that there’s a very small percentage of these … that we’re now going to penalize,” McCutchen said. “We’re doing a good job of non-calling these now. All we’re adding is a layer at the top (where) we really want to get rid of these overt actions.”
##### More Details on Flopping
> Here are a few more details about the flopping rules …
> * If a flopping call is missed in a game but discovered afterward, then the offending player will be fined $2,000.
> * The **non-unsportsmanlike technical foul that comes from a flopping call doesn’t count toward a player’s possible ejection** (it takes two unsportsmanlike technicals to be ejected).
> * If flopping is called on the same play where another player is called for an unsportsmanlike technical, then the two technicals still offset one another (despite the flopping call being non-unsportsmanlike).
##### Examples
>The **“secondary” aspect was highlighted** with a video clip of Minnesota Timberwolves big man **Rudy Gobert, who threw his body back long after absorbing contact** in the paint.
> The Miami Heat’s **Kyle Lowry was featured in a clip that qualified as “theatrical,”** as he took a hit on the sideline from Smart and threw himself over the nearby scorer’s table and nearly into the stands (interestingly, this play also illustrated that there can be a flop call on a defender on plays where an offensive foul is called as well). “**If all Kyle does is go down there, then the contact and the reaction to it would be aligned**,” McCutchen said.
by NokCha_
37 Comments
but my parents told me to go into STEM
EMBIID YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED
Can’t wait for the NBA to enforce this diligently for a month and then ease up the restrictions
G.U.M.D.A.M. vibes: Generation Unsubdued Nuclear Drive Assault Module
>If a flopping call is missed in a game but discovered afterward, then the offending player will be fined $2,000.
Most of these are going to be too difficult to call in real time without a replay, and a $2000 post-game fine is not a real deterrent.
The only STEM the US succeeds in
Harden’s trade value just got lower
“Secondary” sounds like the initial contact will be allowed to be “sold” but anything following won’t be?
I imagine they’ll call it for two weeks, stop, then in round 2 of the playoffs they’ll target certain players and not others and people will point and laugh at them despite it being business as usual re: inconsistent officiating.
Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics….huh.
EDIT: As a PhD in STEM, leave our acronym alone!!!!
I have no problem with the league taking extended efforts to cut down on hyper exaggerated flailing on incidental contact, but the way they’re intending on implementing this seems like it’s gonna raise more problems than it’s going to fix.
I have no issue with this rule, flopping is highly annoying.
However, NBA should do more to give improve general refereeing, because I just don’t think they are competent enough to enforce already existing rules, let alone new ones which give them more power to ruin the games…
So a sportsmanlike technical foul?
They need to offer an additional flopping challenge for each team, that allows for a replay review.
The flopping is highly annoying
I’ll get banned for providing my suggestion for an easy to remember four letter acronym but know that it’s much better than STEM and more clearly describes the nature of the infraction
Just call fouls on the player that initiates contact. Two guys are running toward the basket and one moves in to the path of the other and bumps them, it’s a foul.
I don’t care which side of the ball they are on. The days of a driver throwing himself into the defender cannot be gone soon enough.
I’m prepared to see this happen 7-10 times in the first few weeks and 0-2 times for the remainder of the season.
lebron james, austin reaves, and jayson tatum’s 9/11
Why not T.R.A.E?
smh cant even be a damn baller without majoring in compsci
[Nah](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2FUTm86phGUMMQE%2Fgiphy.gif&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=b9448bf13aa45de1a0aab56273c02a5c2b62dcabb3d1e6d5ea0d53d4627627fb&ipo=images)
gonna be a shitshow
The problem with flopping is that it works and the refs fall for it. If the refs can’t tell when a player is flopping to not call a foul, how are they supposed to identify it and call a tech?
All this does is further penalize players who are bad at flopping but do it all the time and don’t get the calls anyway, like LeBron and Steph, and continue to reward players who are good at selling calls like Embiid.
I think they should remove two techs is an ejection and just call them more often. Draymond abuses the fact that he can get 1 tech and then as long as he doesn’t do something insane the ref is too scared to call a 2nd one and actually eject him. But if the punishment is just 1 shot and possession (plus a fine or whatever after the game) then the refs would call them more often and it would maybe cut down on all the complaining and bitching these guys do.
How worried should I be with Marcus Smart?
I put a bet on SGA being the first to get called on. Lets go SGA!
**P**eople
**O**rder
**O**ur
**P**atties
ACT foul
Accentuated
Contact
Technical
“Non-unsportsmanlike technical foul”
So, a sportsmanlike technical foul?
I’ll believe it when I see it. They’ve been saying they’ll crack down on flopping for more than a decade.
if this works I will send McCutchen a fruit basket
> McCutchen also said offensive players would not be able to draw “rip through” fouls against defenders if they are not attempting to make a play toward the rim.
This is the last line of the article, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being the most impactful change of all. The league has already done some things in this direction with the ruling against drawing these fools with an “unnatural shooting motion”, but this is yet another positive step towards getting rid of some foul-seeking behavior that’s been disproportionately rewarded for a while. I don’t know exactly how they’ll define a “play toward the rim”, I’m pretty sure any sort of jump shot from a triple-threat position would still count as one, but depending on where exactly they set those bounds, this could cut out a lot of rip-through attempts. Good riddance.
Is the resulting shot called a NUT shot?
They just had to wait until Smart and Grant Williams were off the Celtics to implement this. League rigged.
this is so tough to deal with because just like in soccer its very rare to get fouls called consistently and properly without “selling” it.
So you have to “flop” for legit fouls to get a call, which eventually leads to flopping on all contact.
If refs were great at catching the fouls, flopping wouldn’t be necessary. Not sure it’s all that realistic for refs to really be excellent with foul calls in games that are this fast and this skill oriented though.
At least in basketball the refs are a lot closer to the action on average
I’m calling it, its Washed Jimmy Butler season
Just get a sky judge
>non-unsportsmanlike technical foul
I’m looking forward to floppers being called for a NUT foul.