Finally the NBA is catching up with the rest of the world’s basketball rule book, as the days of watching players exaggerate contact in orden to get a foul call might soon be over. It has been reported that the Competition Committee is discussing an in-game penalty for flopping that would result in a technical free throw.

According to insider Shams Charania, athletes will stop trying to manipulate the officials by trying to entice a whistle in their favor after this new rule is set in stone in the league. The reporter announces that a “trial is possible at Summer League in July.”

Flopping has been a problem in the NBA for years now, as players are constantly trying to trick the referees. At the beginning of the month, coach Steve Kerr begged the league to punish flops during their Western Conference semifinal series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

This wasn’t the first time that Kerr has pushed on the matter, as he’s suggested that the NBA should imitate how the rest of the world deals with these situations.

“I think, to me, what I’ve learned coaching in FIBA… There’s a flop rule,” Kerr told the press. “If a referee deems a player has flopped, they just call it a technical foul, and it’s pretty penalizing. And so the flopping has basically been eliminated from FIBA, and we have the ability to do the same thing in the NBA if we want.

“I think we should address it, because the players are so smart, and the entire regular season is about gamesmanship and trying to fool the refs. And this is how it’s been for a while, and it’s up to us as a league. Do we want to fix this?,” he kept at it.

“These are all things that are my personal plea to the NBA. I think we can do better in terms of cleaning up the flopping. In the meantime, I give the Lakers credit for the plays that they’ve been able to sell.”

Just as Kerr wanted, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has imposed a flopping rule that results in a technical free throw, just what the NBA is developing.

Even though the league does have its set of punishments for flopping, none of them have an in-game consequence. Most of them require a postgame video review that eventually fines the players directly.

The Lakers had been under criticism lately for alledged flops throughout the playoffs

“We don’t teach flopping. We teach our players to play downhill and attack the paint and be forceful,” coach Darvin Ham said after numerous questioning from the press.

Take a look at what ESPN’s “Around the Horn” panel thinks of the NBA finally admitting they have a flor problem:

The all-time scoring leader in the league, LeBron James, has been one of the most criticized players this season. “I just know that we, our coaching staff and us players, we don’t work on flopping. That’s not even part of our game. Our game is to attack, attack the paint. We don’t mind physical contact, we actually like the contact, we don’t shy away from it,” he answered when his integrity was in question.

“We’re just not a team that goes out there looking for flopping opportunities. That’s just not us. It’s actually never been any team that I’ve played on in 20 years where we’ve been a flopping team,” he concluded.

Despite their struggles this postseason, the Boston Celtics have been perfect in the postseason when facing elimination. They were down 3-2 to the Sixers and found a way to win that series. Now, they look to be the first team in NBA playoff history to come back from a 3-0 deficit. With their win in Game 5, Joe Mazzulla became the 3rd rookie head coach in NBA history to win 4+ games when facing elimination. 

Obviously, the Celtics would rather be ahead in this series, but they’re playing the hand they were dealt. Miami has the chance to close things out at home on Saturday night. Boston wants to spoil their party and force a Game 7 at the TD Garden.

Joe Mazzulla has faced some backlash this postseason, but he’s got the Celtics in the position to make a historic comeback. Despite being on the road for Game 6, NBA betting sites have the Celtics at (-146) to win.

Joe Mazzulla is the 3rd rookie head coach in NBA history to win 4+ games when facing elimination, joining Paul Westphal in 1993 and Joe Mullaney in 1970. pic.twitter.com/gd600201hC

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 26, 2023

Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics are 4-0 in elimination Games this postseason

The Boston Celtics have had their ups and downs this postseason, but momentum is on their side now. As a team, Boston is now 4-0 in elimination games this season and that dates back to their series with the 76ers that went a full seven games.

In Game 6, the Celtics were down 3-2 in the series and were playing Philly on the road. Jayson Tatum scored 16 fourth-quarter points to lift the Celtics to a win and force Game 7 at home. Boston won Game 6, 95-86. The Celtics would destroy the 76ers at home in Game 7, 112-88 backed by a 51-point performance from Tatum.

After falling down 3-0 in the Conference Finals, the Celtics have won two more games in a row while facing elimination. Boston took Game 4 from Miami on the road Tuesday night, 116-99. The Celtics won again last night facing elimination, 110-97. They’ve outscored their opponents 433-370 through four elimination games in the 2023 postseason.

This past season, Kyrie Irving shared an Anti-Semitic film link on his social media account. This caused an uproar in the NBA. The superstar PG was suspended eight games in a row by the NBA, but that wasn’t all. Irving would also lose his shoe deal with Nike, but he’s not having difficulty finding a new suitor. According to league sources, Adidas is showing interest in making Kyrie their next signature athlete. 

Adidas is not the only sneaker brand in the running for Irving. Puma has also been involved in negotiations with Kyrie. He had one of the most successful sneakers of the last decade with Nike. Reports say he was paid $11 million per year by Nike from 2014-2023.

During a recent Instagram live video, Irving shared that he will be announcing who’s he signing with very soon. The eight-time all-star still has millions of fans around the world who will continue to support him. He has loyal fans that will still buy his product regardless of the company that he signs with.

Adidas is showing interest in Kyrie Irving, per @ScoopB pic.twitter.com/rBvT8IGKNd

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) May 24, 2023

Will Adidas be lucky enough to sign another superstar like Kyrie Irving?

Kyrie Irving’s deal with Nike was on the verge of expiring and his incident made it that much easier for them to cut ties. Both parties mutually agreed to part ways and Irving has been a sneaker free-agent ever since. He still wore his Nike signature shoe all season long but had creative ways to cover the Nike swoosh each time.

Basketball fans have been vocal since the news of Irving possibly signing with Adidas. many are saying Nike “fumbled the bag”, meaning they made the wrong choice in letting Kyrie go. Nobody knows the full behind-the-scenes details of what really happened between the two parties.

Adidad already has some high-profile NBA players signed. James Harden, Damian Lillard, and Derick Rose all have signature shoes with three Adidas. Adding Irving to their roster of athletes would be huge for their company moving forward. Millions of his fans are waiting to buy his next signature shoe.