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Two new rule changes have been approved by the NBA’s board of governors for the upcoming 2023-24 NBA season. The changes were approved on Tuesday during their annual meeting at this year’s NBA 2k24 Summer League. Now, players can be charged with a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul for flopping. Additionally, coaches will have the opportunity to challenge a call for a second time within a game if they were successful in their initial challenge.
Flopping Penalty
Flopping in the NBA has been a tactic players across the sport have used for their benefit and this is the first time the league has implemented an in-game penalty rule.
One free throw will be granted to the opposing team. Moreover, to call a flopping violation, the official isn’t required to stop live play in order to call the violation. Officials can wait for a neutral opportunity in the game to call the violation. Lastly, the player who commits the flopping violation will be tallied with a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul but cannot be ejected based on flopping violations.
Coach’s Challenge
An important part of the coach’s game plan in crunch time has changed. Now, coaches have to take into account which calls they know they can win the challenge over in hopes to get a second chance. Originally, coaches were only granted one opportunity to challenge a referee’s decision in a game. The new rule now forces coaches to choose wisely when it comes to which calls are worth risking. If overruled, the opportunity for another challenge is lost. The timeout utilized to begin a team’s second challenge won’t be retained for game flow reasons, even if it’s successful. The timeout-related guidelines for a team’s first challenge usage will remain the same.
NBA has approved two new rules changes for the 2023-24 season, per @ShamsCharania
➖Flops will result in a tech and the opposing team will get a free throw
➖Coaches will be given a second challenge if the first is successful pic.twitter.com/P7jEgJkBUD— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 12, 2023
