Basketball over the years has become a highly offensive game prompting NBA to balance it with some hard rules. The league last year decided to award offensive fouls to shooters drawing fouls using “non basketball” moves. Then came a major rule before the 2023 Summer League. The league has now decided to award technical fouls to players who flop to draw fouls. Flopping has been condemned but how can this affect the likes of James Harden, LeBron James and Joel Embiid?

The act of flopping to draw fouls has been an age old practice in the NBA. However, with the major rule change, several NBA players who have a knack of drawing fouls by flopping will be limited. This raises the question of who gets the technical foul for flopping first. In a recent statistic regarding this, several legendary names like James Harden and LeBron James came up but some were also surprisingly omitted.

After James Harden gets offended, LeBron James is put under the spotlight

James Harden has grown to become one of the greatest scorers of all time. His shot-making ability is an undeniable weapon in the 33 year old’s arsenal. However, his flopping is no less of a weapon. The Beard is often seen at the free throw line during games. He ranks 6th all time in free throws made but the notorious former MVP has gotten to the line on several occasions by simply flopping during plays.

In a recent interview, Harden was asked about his flopping habit. He quickly questioned, “Are you calling me a flopper?” before stating that he will not be affected by the rule. “I’m here for it,” he said. However, fans believe otherwise for The King, LeBron James.

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In a recent statistic, LeBron James emerged as the betting favorite to receive the first technical foul for flopping. James Harden was ranked fifth in the list. However, there was one major name missing in the list – reigning MVP, Joel Embiid. Embiid is known to be a terrific scorer. However, his flopping habits have come to light on several occasions. His omission from the list enraged the fans.

Fans react to Embiid’s omission

Joel Embiid has been an incredible scorer his entire career. The Philadelphia 76ers center has been a dominant force in the paint, bagging two back to back scoring titles. However, he is also a frequent flopper. Fans have noted that Embiid has had a history of flopping to get to the free throw line. Therefore, when Embiid was not featured on this list, the fans were not having it.

Fans took to Twitter to have their say about this incident. Some users criticized the media’s agenda for Embiid’s exclusion from the list.

Fans stated Embiid worked “too hard” to be excluded from the list.

Some also defended James by saying Embiid flops more than him.

Fans also shared hilarious memes regarding this.

However, some called it a Hall of Fame list.

The list may have not featured the reigning MVP but the fans definitely made sure he was mentioned in the conversation. Irrespective of who gets the technical foul first, the rule change is sure to put a lot of players in trouble. By making the game fair for everyone on the floor, the rule could potentially reduce a lot of unfair fouls being called.

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However, the question of who will be the first to get a technical foul for flopping still remains. Although LeBron James, James Harden and Joel Embiid may be tough contenders, flopping is not a practice only these players follow.