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Golden State Warriors fans trolled LA Lakers coach Darvin Ham and LeBron James following the former's statement about flopping. Warriors coach Steve Kerr recently pleaded to referees to monitor flops after the defending champions went down 3-1 in their playoff series.
In an interview following the first quarter of Game 5, Ham defended his players by saying that they don't flop. The Lakers led the league in free throw attempts this season, which meant that they get fouled a lot. It could be because they're just great in attacking the basket or amazing in selling contact.
"We don't teach flopping," Ham said. "We teach our players to play downhill, attack the paint and be forceful."
Despite Darvin Ham's defense of his players, Golden State Warriors fans were ruthless in response. They pointed out that LeBron James plays for the Lakers, and he's a notorious flopper. One of James' infamous nicknames is "LeFlop," with one fan saying:
"Lebron James is on your team sir."
Here are other reactions to Ham saying that the Lakers don't flop:
What did Steve Kerr say about flopping?
After the Golden State Warriors' loss in Game 4, Steve Kerr called out the NBA and officials to enforce a "flop rule" used by FIBA. The free throw disparity this series has been high in favor of the LA Lakers, and Kerr reckons some of it is due to players selling contact.
"I think, to me, what I’ve learned coaching in FIBA," Kerr said. "There's a flop rule. If a referee deems a player has flopped, they just call it a technical foul, and it's pretty penalizing. And so the flopping has basically been eliminated from FIBA, and we have the ability to do the same thing in the NBA if we want."
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Former teammate reveals why LeBron James flops during games
LeBron James is notorious for flopping since he entered the league in 2003. James even earned the nickname "LeFlop" for his theatrics, but "The King" has a reason for doing it, according to former teammate Iman Shumpert.
"The worst thing we had against LeBron is, 'Bro why you flopping?'" Shumpert said on the Bootleg Kev Show. "And literally he start flopping because he like, 'Bro, I got to get these free throws if these people getting free throws.' He's like, 'Bro I'm really getting hit.' So he's like, 'I'll sell it for you since they can't see it because I'm so strong, y'all can't see me getting fouled.'"
