“You Flopping”: Darius Garland Calls out LaMelo Ball for Exaggerated Flailing

Egregious flopping has become the norm in the NBA. Although every player can’t be blamed for the same, there are some who take the ‘art’ to another level. Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball would rank very high on the list of players who are notorious for flopping. In an attempt to get him to stop, Darius Garland called out Ball after catching him in the act.

The Cleveland Cavaliers played the Hornets at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse yesterday. In the ninth minute of the second quarter, Ball charged towards the basket with Caris LeVert guarding him.

The point guard spotted an opportunity to draw a foul on LeVert and exaggerated the impact of the contact. From the footage, it almost seemed like Ball slipped and made it look like it was because of contact with LeVert. He was successful in his plan and drew a foul.

But Garland then confronted the star guard for the exaggerated hand movements when he was walking to the free-throw line.

Garland said, “You flopping.”

However, the confrontation had no effect on the 23-year-old as he did it again shortly after. This time, he flung himself onto the floor after Garland gave him a gentle push. A fan commented on the clip claiming that the performance was worthy of an Academy Award.

There are plenty of incidents similar to this and much worse that have set a terrible precedent. While flopping can surely be considered a good strategy at times as it helps draw easy fouls and put pressure on the opposition, the execution sometimes is taken too far by players. Over the years, Ball has become quite proficient in throwing himself on the floor to draw fouls.

The league, however, has been trying its best to crack down on such activities. In January 2021, Ball was given a warning as he tried to flop while defending Ben Simmons in the game against the Philadelphia 76ers. The NBA introduced the anti-flopping rule in 2012 which stated that the first offense would be let go with a warning.

However, in case of a second attempt, the player would be asked to pay a $5000 fine. Some players flop religiously, making it seem like it’s the only trick in their book. What they don’t realize is that it ruins the game, not only for the opposition players but for the fans as well.

The league has been trying to control it for a while, but looking at Ball’s multiple attempts in one game, it doesn’t seem like they’ve made massive progress yet.