Steve Kerr Calls on NBA Players to Take a Stand Against Flopping

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Steve Kerr Calls on NBA Players to Take a Stand Against Flopping.

On October 28, 2026, ahead of the Golden State Warriors' game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis, Steve Kerr used a phrase that immediately sparked discussion: “We should be the No Bulls— Association”. He was not proposing a new NBA team, but rather a shared stance by players against tactical deception.

Kerr was referring to the three consecutive flopping calls late on the night of the Portland Trail Blazers' game against the Los Angeles Lakers. His answer to the question of what the NBA should do about flopping was unequivocal: Players should no longer simply accept the “bullshit” that some players produce through grabbing, hooking, screening, and deliberately running into opponents.

Why Kerr Is Holding Players Accountable

Shared responsibility

“Like, every bit of bulls— that the players try to pull, we should just say, ‘No, no. We’re not doing that’,” Kerr explained. In his view, the league is currently behind on this issue: Players are grifting, while referees are left to catch up with the action after the fact.

Kerr's remarks were therefore not aimed at any specifically named players. He described recurring behavior in the game: Players who fall, grab one another, or run into screens to convince referees that they were treated unfairly. For Kerr, this creates a game that is losing its authenticity. Officials should once again be able to simply refuse to accept such deception.

The timing

The situation was more concrete than a general criticism of the NBA. Both Kerr and Minnesota coach Chris Finch were asked about the three flopping calls at the end of the Lakers game. The two coaches had different views about what the league should prioritize penalizing. Kerr's own demand went further: Players should not only respond to a better rule but should also draw a clear line against grifting themselves.

“We should be the ‘No Bulls Association.’”
(“We should be the No Bulls Association”)

The Definition of Flopping Remains the Difficult Part

What is a flop?

Kerr also acknowledged that the line between a foul-induced fall and deliberate flopping is not always clear. “I think everybody’s trying to figure out what’s a flop, what’s not,” he said. In his view, the NBA has made flopping a priority, but the league is still discussing internally which actions it wants to capture.

His comments therefore contain an important caveat. Kerr is calling for a shared position, but he does not provide a finished definition against which every situation could be assessed immediately. That is also why his demand amounts to more than a call to crack down on individual acts of deception: Players, coaches, teams, and the league must agree on which actions they actually consider problematic.

Another example from Kerr's circle illustrates how widespread the dissatisfaction with the previous approach had become. A friend in the league had players call their own fouls during a training camp because they had grown tired of the deception. Kerr said the players would not flop in that situation. However, he explicitly stressed that this was not the final solution.

Finch Wants to Put More Focus on Offense

A different view of the same league

Chris Finch saw the situation differently. He broadly supported the NBA's efforts to combat flopping but criticized the league's definition as “needed but confusing.” In his assessment, too many flopping cases were being penalized against the defense, while the cases that mattered most to fans were not being addressed sufficiently.

Finch directed much of his criticism at offensive players who manipulate the game by falling and consequently earning unnecessary free throws. For him, the league's message to fans did not align with fans' own expectations: Spectators did not want attacks on the outcome of games through tactically induced falls.

The contrast between Kerr and Finch makes the debate more concrete. Kerr's call is aimed at a shared position across the entire league. Finch demands that the NBA focus primarily on offensive players who deliberately fall to gain an advantage. Both positions begin from the same premise: A definition alone is not enough if players, coaches, and referees understand different actions to be flopping.

Kerr Is Working Behind the Scenes — and Praises the Referees

Clips and private conversations

Kerr also said that early in the season he had sent the league office clips of various calls. These conversations were deliberately kept “private”. In his view, flopping should be “banished” altogether. He was therefore describing neither a public proposal nor an already announced rule change, but an ongoing discussion within the NBA.

His position is nevertheless notable because Kerr does not blame referees. He said they do a good job and have it “really hard”; his criticism was not directed at their day-to-day decision-making, but at the disrupted relationship between players and officials. In his assessment, the league has been behind in combating “player grifting” for roughly a decade.

Kerr's position remains clear: less deception, fewer tactical falls, and a shared stance by players. The specific next step is not defined in the information available. There is no announced sanction and no finalized rule that would allow every instance of flopping to be identified immediately and without doubt.

Why the Demand Goes Beyond the Game

“It's a better game when people don't flop,” Kerr said. His strongest justification is therefore not the phrase “No Bulls Association,” but his focus on the game itself: Without deliberate grabbing, hooking, and running into opponents, referees regain more room to make decisions.

The main difference between the two coaches consequently lies in their priorities. Kerr demands that players themselves say no. Finch argues that the NBA must devote more of its resources to offensive deception. This leaves the NBA with a clear task: The definition must become more precise, and the groups involved must support it together.

The available information does not identify any individual players affected or announce any new sanctions. It does, however, establish the direction: Kerr wants to banish flopping from the game, move players toward taking active responsibility, and prevent the league from remaining perpetually behind the action.