During the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Team USA stars struggled to adjust to FIBA’s strict, physical officiating and the lack of a whistle for foul baiting. Some looked completely out of rhythm. Anyone who watched those games knows exactly what I’m talking about.

 
 
 

After the Olympics, the NBA cracked down on “non-basketball moves.” For a short stretch, refs actually stopped rewarding players for leaning into defenders, kicking legs out on jumpers, and manufacturing contact out of nothing.

 
 
 

Players like Harden, Trae Young, Lillard, Beal, and Booker saw noticeable drops in free throw attempts and scoring. Offensive ratings fell, free throw rates plummeted, and the game was more physical and it was fucking great.

 
 
 

Then it all went away, things went back to "normal", foul-bating was rewarded again. That two-month stretch in 2021 proved the NBA can fix its product—it just chooses not to. The reversal made it obvious: foul-baiting isn’t a flaw in the system or referee issue, it’s part of the design, and we’re stuck watching it.

 
 
 

EDIT: Examples of Team USA's failed foul baits
https://streamable.com/vxzlqu

 
 

27 comments

  1. People complaining about this is significantly more annoying then anything happening on the court

  2. The actual answer is without higher rates of fouls the game is too intense and it results in more injuries

  4. Does anyone want to talk about actual basketball on this sub anymore? You know, the matchups, plays run, play styles?

    You guys constantly bitching about he refs/flopping is so much worse than anything happening on the court.

  5. could it be because games are finishing quicker, but it needed to be longer so the league can cram as many commercials as they can in games?

  6. You could choose not to watch it, and watch the highlight clips like the league wants

  8. Nobody is more marginalized than the hivemind of SGA and OKC haters. Nobody!!! They are desperate to create a echo chamber here of dime a dozen posts of the same thing

    The hivemind will downvote me because it violates the narrative they wanna instill on the subreddit. They are just scared

  9. Isn’t this completely solvable with retroactive fining? Maybe the refs can’t reliably tell during games, fine. But there’s a million different camera angles at each game. We’re all watching these obvious flops on Reddit. The league could just levy escalating fines for flops in the days after games and wouldn’t they just stop doing it?

  10. This is what I don’t get. Don’t reward flopping for a month and the problem is solved for good. I just don’t understand the tolerance of the practice, other than the league sees it as a way to tip the scales for certain teams.

  12. The nba isnt becoming unwatchable, this sub is becoming unsubscribable and unvisitable.

    I come on to see actual discussion and all I am is bombarded with ref shit.

    I think i know more refs names these days than I do players names.

  13. This is what I always bring up. Flopping is an issue that predates OKC by several decades, and it’s not that they can’t address it, they choose not to. I remember this season and the early part of it when they stopped calling that shit and it was great. But offense went down so they went back to calling it how they normally did at the turn of the calendar year.

  17. That was when the Wizards were good. But then the refs returned to normal and kept screwing us over officiating wise

  18. did you guys know the wcf is the highest rated ever? boycott away and keep it up with you internet narratives!

  20. Techs for flopping. And if one gets missed, you enforce it retroactively by giving the next opponent free throws at the start of the 4th quarter.

  22. Devin booker in 2020 season: 5.9 FTA/g 25.6 PPG

    2021 season Oct/Nov: 5.5 FTA 23.2 PPG

    Wow you can really see the massive effect it had on him, shooting 0.4 less FTs per game.

    Booker was in a shooting slump (he was hitting only 40% from the field in the first few weeks) and a hamstring injury that ended his November early. His game wasn’t affected by the rule change at all.

  24. Not that i don’t believe OP but do you have numbers? I recall what you saying being an actual thing but I’ve never seen numbers to back it up.

  27. Yeah the reason is because of what you said – the scoring went down and we can’t have that. People only watch for high scores.

    You bring up another interesting point though – how will this affect the Olympic play? We could be entering a dark age for Olympic basketball success if the entire next generation gets used to playing this way.

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