LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma both received warnings for violating the NBA’s anti-flopping rule in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 115-105 home win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, the league announced.
The NBA said Saturday that James’ violation occurred with 2 minutes, 33 seconds remaining in the second quarter when James, positioned between Dillon Brooks and Grayson Allen of the Grizzlies, fell to the floor while vying for a rebound.
Kuzma flopped with 6:31 remaining in the fourth quarter, according to the league. While guarding Brooks, Kuzma tried to draw an offensive foul on the Memphis wing by spinning and tumbling to the hardwood after Brooks put his shoulder down and initiated contact with Kuzma’s hip.
The NBA looked to clean up the game by monitoring flopping starting in the 2012-13 season. After receiving a warning, a player can be subject to fines that grow from $5,000 to $10,000 to $15,000 to $30,000 for each subsequent violation. If a player reaches six flops in a season, the fine can increase even further, and the league has the right to issue a suspension.
Nearly a decade after introducing the rule change, the anti-flopping rule is rarely enforced. James and Kuzma are just the sixth and seventh players to be reprimanded with warnings by the league this season, joining LaMelo Ball, D.J. Augustin, Gary Trent Jr., Kristaps Porzingis and Mason Jones.
The last player to be fined by the NBA for flopping was Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics during the 2020 playoffs.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.
