NEW YORK — League referees are putting flopping at the top of the 2026-27 enforcement list, and a preseason whistle on Knicks guard Jalen Brunson showed how quickly the standard can bite.
During a Madison Square Garden exhibition on Oct. 12 against Minnesota, Brunson took a shove in the back from Rudy Gobert, stumbled, braced himself, then scrambled to box out while a three-pointer fell. After the make, an official assessed Brunson a flopping technical. Brunson heatedly disputed the call on the floor.
Training chief Monty McCutchen says the target is not every attempt to draw contact. The violation is secondary, theatrical and exaggerated movement — the STEM test — while ordinary embellishment such as a lone head jerk stays legal. Basketball operations lead James Jones framed the push as cleaning up plays that look bad live and on television and do not match how the league wants competition to present.
When officials catch a flop in real time, the player gets a non-unsportsmanlike technical and the other side shoots a free throw. Missed flops can still trigger a warning ladder, rising fines and a one-game ban after postgame review. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has cheered the shift, arguing fans are done watching flops get rewarded.
Crews are also watching off-arm shove-offs by ballhandlers, extra pushes after legal screens and reckless closeouts, with training film going to every club before opening night.
