I’ve noticed that throughout these playoffs the “flops” have certainly picked up and it just makes me sick.  Kirilenko’s flop on the Louis Scola “foul” may have won the Jazz the game.  Was it a foul? You can argue yes, but it was for sure the flop that sold it. Manu Ginobli is notorious for his flopping and could be one of the worst in the league.  After seeing this garbage in the playoffs and regular season year after year, it gave me an idea to try and put together an “All NBA Flopper Team.” 

Andrei Kirilenko (Utah Jazz: #47: Power Forward)

Oh boy do have I found some good stuff on our man Andrei.  He is most certainly a rising star of the flop, and with his long arms its just hard not to notice is flailing.  It is guaranteed now that all Houston fans hate him after his recent incidents in the playoffs.  Kirilenko really wasn’t bothersome at all until late, but the recent flopping the last year has really moved him up the charts.  

Manu Ginobli (San Antonio Spurs: #20: Shooting Guard)

I really think Manu takes the cake for flopping.  He has got to be the most obvious and hilarious flopper in the NBA right now.  His flopping is like a fish out of water.  He is always trying to draw the foul no matter what the contact, and some of his reactions really ridiculous.  The slight bit of contact seems to drop Manu to the ground with such force, it looks he explodes with his arms and legs going everywhere.

Anderson Varejao (Cleveland Cavaliers: #17: Power Forward)

Most of Varejao’s flops come on the offensive end, his style is much different than Ginobli’s. He spends half of the time on the floor, and the other half wondering why he didn’t get the call.  He does get a lot of charge calls, but it is always humorous when his Sideshow Bob hair style flails all over the place.

Raja Bell (Phoenix Suns: #19: Shooting Guard)

Raja plays great D, but he loves to play real tight defense, and once the offensive players tries to get separation, then he is immediately on the ground.  He’s had his feud with Kobe and the whole Spurs team.  He led the NBA in offensive fouls drawn in 2005-2006, but Ginobli and others have climbed ahead of him for the top floppers.

Bruce Bowen (San Antonio Spurs: #12: Small Forward)

On the court, Bowen is a jerk.  He has always been criticized of dirty play, but is an underrated flopper.  Bowen is mostly a dirty player though rather than a flopper.  He has done his fair share of flailing, but the dirty plays are just adding up by the year.  

Kicking Ray Allen

Tripping Amare

Kneeing Steve Nash

The Wally Dropkick

Kicking Chris Paul

Devin Harris (New Jersey Nets: #34: New Jersey Nets)

I mostly remember Harris for pulling down Jason Richardson last year in the playoffs, and hurting himself in the process.  Harris is in the beginning stages of becoming a flop-master, and is fine tuning his skills.  He has the potential to become one of the best. 

I really think that all the flopping has put a damper on the game.  I’ve also noticed that some of the top floppers are non-American, and have a soccer style mentality of drawing the foul.  It’s sad the best floppers are also some of the best defensive players.  Hopefully the league will crack down on this growing trend.  Feel free to add any other players that you feel are worthy.

 

Tags: Anderson Varejao, Andrei Kirilenko, Bruce Bowen, Devin Harris, Manu Ginobli, Raja Bell

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