Objectively, 36-year-old LeBron James is one of the best players on the planet. As a 17x All-Star, 17x All-NBA player, and 4x NBA Champion, Bron dominates the game in a multitude of ways,
Despite this, James has been caught over-selling contact a number of times, a tactic that is widely controversial amongst the NBA community.
While nobody can say for certain why other players choose to utilize this technique, Iman Shumpert did provide an explanation on why LeBron does it. Here’s what he said:
“The worst thing we had against LeBron was like, ‘Bro, why you flopping?’ And literally, he started flopping cause he like, ‘Bro, I gotta get these free throws if these people getting free throws,’ ” Shumpert said in a recent episode of the Bootleg Kev podcast. “He like, ‘Bro, I’m really getting hit.’ So he like, ‘I’ll sell it for you cause they can’t see it cause I’m so strong. Y’all can’t see me getting fouled.’ “
James has superhuman strength, which he often uses to bully his way to the rim. Apparently, it also comes at the cost of blinding officials to contact he receives around the rim.
At least, that is the excuse James uses to justify the acting display he is sometimes guilty of showing. That doesn’t mean he’s willing to admit it to the public, though.
“It’s like, I don’t need to flop, I play an aggressive game,” argued James. “I have never been one of those guys. I don’t even know how to do it. So it’s like whatever doesn’t mean much to me.”
Whatever the case, Bron isn’t alone. In fact, countless players around the association use flopping as a way to get to the line. The question is, will it ever stop?
While not likely, the NBA did recently put forward some rule changes aimed at changing the way players take advantage of officiating. Perhaps in the near future, the league will present harsher punishments on those who get a little carried away selling contact.
