League warns LeBron James for flopping (Kyle Kuzma, too) - NBC Sports

LeBron James got flattened by Grayson Allen.

If that sentence made you laugh — and it should, it’s pretty funny — then you understand why LeBron got an official warning from the league for flopping on Saturday for a flop against Memphis Friday night.

Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James received a warning for violating the league’s anti-flopping rule Feb. 12 vs. Memphis. pic.twitter.com/NovQbnBEE0

— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) February 13, 2021

LeBron got the call, he’ll ignore the warning. Get three of those warnings in a season and LeBron would get a $5,000 fine. That should fix the problem.

On Twitter already — and almost certainly in the comments on this post — there was some hand wringing from people looking for a chance to smack LeBron, saying, “how can he be the GOAT if he’s flopping?” “He doesn’t need to do this.”

Apparently, people never went to YouTube and searched “Michael Jordan flop.” He did it (and that’s just the stuff on YouTube still, not all the times it happened, this is a different age of television and social media). Magic flopped at points. Bird. Heck, they flopped when George Mikan played. Competitive players will always search for an advantage and a way to manipulate the officials. LeBron is part of a long and storied line of guys willing to do it.

By the way, the Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma also got a flopping warning. If you thought LeBron’s acting was bad…

Los Angeles Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma received a warning for violating the league’s anti-flopping rule Feb. 12 vs. Memphis. pic.twitter.com/JOxWpWWfwr

— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) February 13, 2021