After the NBA took some strict measures to curb the flopping epidemic, they found one very vocal supporter. Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch has voiced strong support for the NBA’s crackdown on flopping ahead of the upcoming season. He still hopes that league officials will stop rewarding non-basketball theater. But he made it clear that the new measures won’t affect the Wolves or their franchise cornerstone.
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Speaking to reporters as referees arrived at training camp to go over seasonal points of emphasis, Finch didn’t mince words about the state of officiating and the fan backlash surrounding whistle-baiting.
“We don’t teach flopping here. We don’t teach embellishment. We never have,” Finch declared on Wednesday. “It probably shows up in Anthony’s free throw rate at times that he doesn’t flop or embellish. But we just don’t teach it here and that’s not the way we play. Maybe we should.”
The league is educating officials through “Points of Education videos” to draw clearer classifications of what constitutes fouling and flopping. Finch welcomed the move and hopes it goes a step further.
“Hopefully the league cleans up this cr-p, because nobody wants to watch it. That’s what they said was the feedback from the fans, is they’re tired of watching the flopping. And we know that it’s been rewarded at too high of a level, so just stop rewarding the flopping.”
Finch’s candid remarks stem from a long-standing coaching philosophy that prioritizes playing through physical contact rather than manufacturing fouls.
Highlighting franchise star Anthony Edwards as a primary example, Finch argued that scorers who attempt to power through defensive resistance are frequently penalized with a whistle, while players who flail or exaggerate contact are handed trips to the charity stripe.
The NBA’s competition committee and referee development team, led by executive vice president James Jones and head of referee development Monty McCutchen, are prioritizing several key areas for the 2026–27 campaign, including off-arm push-offs, screening freedom of movement, and aggressive anti-flopping enforcement.
Under updated protocols, referees are empowered to assess non-ejection technical fouls in-game for clear-cut flopping, alongside post-game league reviews and potential fines.
The Timberwolves staff were involved in the discussions with league officials, too. However, examining Finch’s assertion that Edwards’ refusal to flop hurts his free-throw rate reveals a more complex statistical picture.
During the 2025–26 regular season, Ant averaged 7.2 free-throw attempts per game, ranking 10th overall in the NBA. On a rate basis, he logged 7.4 attempts per 36 minutes and 9.8 attempts per 100 possessions, placing him comfortably within the top 15 league-wide.
While those figures prove Edwards remains among the league’s most frequent foul drawers, Finch maintains that the raw numbers obscure how much higher that whistle volume could be if Edwards engaged in deliberate flopping.
Unlike guards who snap their heads back on mild perimeter contact or collapse on drives, Edwards routinely relies on his elite 225-pound frame to absorb blows and complete drives to the rim, a physical style that coaches across the league agree often works against players when officials look for visual cues to blow the whistle.
Finch’s frustration with whistle disparities is not new. During Minnesota’s heated 2026 Western Conference playoff battle against the Denver Nuggets, Finch publicly criticized the officiating after Denver guard Jamal Murray attempted 16 free throws in a single contest compared to nine combined attempts for Ant and Julius Randle.
“Maybe we gotta start flopping, too,” Finch said at the time and his frustration resonated with fans.
“Julius is not a flopper,” he had said, similar to this time. “Ant is not a flopper. They are physical drivers. They play through the first line of contact. A lot of times, that point of contact, if you were to spill away, you get a foul. But if you keep going, [referees] take a play-on mentality.”
As the NBA attempts to restore flow and integrity to the game, Finch remains hopeful that referees will follow through on their promised crackdown. For Minnesota, flopping is not on the to-do list.