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The NBA Board of Governors has approved two major rule changes for the 2023-24 season, the league announced Tuesday:
Players can now be assessed penalties in-game for flopping.Coaches will now earn a second challenge if their first was successful.
The new flopping penalty will result in a technical foul free throw for the opposing team. Players will not be able to get ejected based on technical fouls drawn for flopping, as they will not count as unsportsmanlike technical fouls. Perhaps most importantly, officials will not need to stop play to call a flopping foul. They will be able to wait until the next neutral opportunity to stop play for a technical foul free throw.
The new challenge rule will work similarly to a rule the NFL currently uses in which football teams gain a third challenge if their first two are successful. The only difference is that NBA teams start with a single challenge and can only gain a second. However, when a team wins its first challenge, it is allowed to keep the timeout it used to issue that challenge. For a second challenge, though, the timeout will count whether or not the play is overturned.
These are both rule changes that fans and critics alike have clamored for over the past several years. The NBA experimented with them in Summer League, which it frequently does with significant changes. Apparently, the Board of Governors was happy enough with how those changes looked that it voted to make them permanent starting next season.
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