The 2023-2024 NBA season is just a few months away. And as the league gears up for another thrilling year of basketball action, the NBA has taken it upon itself to introduce a new rule adding a new level of competitiveness. The NBA implemented this rule in the Summer League as a trial ground to gauge its effectiveness before possibly being included in the NBA.

Meanwhile, following the aftermath of the implementation of the rule, fans are left in shambles dragging even Joel Embiid into the discussion.

NBA launches its latest rule

The NBA is taking significant measures to solve its long-standing problem with flopping. Flopping is when players intentionally exaggerate the impact of contact to fool officials or viewers. The league is now experimenting with an ‘In-Game Flopping Penalty’ during summer league games in Utah, Sacramento, and Las Vegas to address this issue.

According to the rule proposed, an opponent’s team is given a free throw and the ball as the initial consequence is called flop. This violation is a technical foul and does not count toward a player’s total fouls or put them at risk of being removed from the game. Additionally, the penalty can be applied during a dead-ball situation and need not halt play.

The NBA Board of Governors will vote on the regulation on July 11, so these preseason games provide a crucial opportunity to monitor its application and efficacy. Meanwhile, the testing grounds witnessed the first in-game technical foul for flopping!

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Guard Jaden Shackelford created NBA history by being the first player to receive a technical foul for flopping. In a Summer League game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies, Jake LaRavia, a Grizzlies forward, made contact with Shackelford’s head while driving to the basket during the second quarter. Shackelford reacted by exaggerating the impact and staggered backward.

However, Shackelford’s exaggeration did not sway referee Dannica Mosher. When Mosher saw the blunder, she blew her whistle right away. She called Shackelford for a technical foul. The Grizzlies then received a free throw. Jacob Gilyard utilized it to increase their margin to 54-38.

The penalty arguably raised some questions about the proposed rule.

Fans react: “League is getting tougher”

As the video of the first foul for flopping went viral, NBA fans went berserk. A fan tweeted, “Embiid going to get thrown out of every game”

Well, according to reports, Joel Embiid did foul 3.1 times per game in his career.

Other reactions include:

A fan pointed out that it wasn’t a flop.

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The foul has set speculations rife about the season which is yet to begin but is already trending for all the right reasons.