If you and I were gifted a dollar for every time the phrase, "Jordan would never" came to our minds as we watched LeBron James, we'd all be rich.
Thursday night's Los Angeles Lakers game against the Denver Nuggets was no exception. With just four minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Nuggets leading by four, LeBron showcased one of his signature moves. He put his head down, drove the hoop with Nikola Jokic defending, laid the ball in, but flailed in the air as he crashed to the floor. He was not fouled, or even bumped, and left his teammates out to dry as the Nuggets raced down the floor with a 5-4 advantage.
Flopping and fake injuries. It's what LeBron has done, and continues to do throughout his lengthy, Hall of Fame career. As the late legendary Lakers star Kobe Bryant would say, "Soft."
Before I take you for a trip down memory lane, documenting some of LeBron's worst and most egregious flops in a Lakers uniform, let's discuss how this affects LeBron's legacy and how the NBA is complicit in this dramatic acting.
Boomers get a lot of flack for the overused phrase: "Well back in my day…" They'll rant about the "good ‘ol days" when sports were about grit, integrity, rivalry, and love for the game. There's a lot of truth to that. Basketball has become soft, in many ways. Some of the top stars such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, and yes, LeBron James, are well known for embellishment. It's essentially cheating, and the NBA used to agree with me on that, while actively cracking down on it.
Here's a little NBA history lesson:
Back in the 2012-13 season, the NBA took an active role in discouraging and disciplining players who flopped, introducing the"Anti-Flopping Rule".The league realized this was affecting the integrity of the game, so it was willing to fine, and even suspend, players who violated these rules. But, it quickly turned into gentle parenting, rather than actual discipline.
Players like LeBron recognized the fines were minuscule compared to their massive salaries, and because refs were afraid to call flops in games, players recognized the ROI on flopping was well worth it. The vast majority of flops were determined (and fines were handed down) after games concluded, following video review by the league office. Eventually, the league's anti-flopping enforcement quietly faded away. The NBA technically had the rule, but cowered to the pressure of protecting star players like LeBron.
And get this… The NBA has fined LeBron James only ONE TIME for flopping. ONE TIME. That's it. Hard to believe, right?
LeBron James, playing for the Miami Heat at the time, and the Pacers’ David West werefined $5,000 each for violating the league’s anti-flopping rulesduring Game 4 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals.
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