LeBron James Is The King (Of Flopping), And It Will Forever Taint His Legacy

If you and I were gifted a dollar for every time the phrase, "Jordan would never" came to our minds as we watched LeBron James, we'd all be rich. 

Thursday night's Los Angeles Lakers game against the Denver Nuggets was no exception. With just four minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Nuggets leading by four, LeBron showcased one of his signature moves. He put his head down, drove the hoop with Nikola Jokic defending, laid the ball in, but flailed in the air as he crashed to the floor. He was not fouled, or even bumped, and left his teammates out to dry as the Nuggets raced down the floor with a 5-4 advantage.

Flopping and fake injuries. It's what LeBron has done, and continues to do throughout his lengthy, Hall of Fame career. As the late legendary Lakers star Kobe Bryant would say, "Soft."

Before I take you for a trip down memory lane, documenting some of LeBron's worst and most egregious flops in a Lakers uniform, let's discuss how this affects LeBron's legacy and how the NBA is complicit in this dramatic acting. 

Boomers get a lot of flack for the overused phrase: "Well back in my day…" They'll rant about the "good ‘ol days" when sports were about grit, integrity, rivalry, and love for the game. There's a lot of truth to that. Basketball has become soft, in many ways. Some of the top stars such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, and yes, LeBron James, are well known for embellishment. It's essentially cheating, and the NBA used to agree with me on that, while actively cracking down on it. 

Here's a little NBA history lesson:

Back in the 2012-13 season, the NBA took an active role in discouraging and disciplining players who flopped, introducing the "Anti-Flopping Rule". The league realized this was affecting the integrity of the game, so it was willing to fine, and even suspend, players who violated these rules. But, it quickly turned into gentle parenting, rather than actual discipline. 

Players like LeBron recognized the fines were minuscule compared to their massive salaries, and because refs were afraid to call flops in games, players recognized the ROI on flopping was well worth it. The vast majority of flops were determined (and fines were handed down) after games concluded, following video review by the league office. Eventually, the league's anti-flopping enforcement quietly faded away. The NBA technically had the rule, but cowered to the pressure of protecting star players like LeBron.

And get this… The NBA has fined LeBron James only ONE TIME for flopping. ONE TIME. That's it. Hard to believe, right?

LeBron James, playing for the Miami Heat at the time, and the Pacers’ David West were fined $5,000 each for violating the league’s anti-flopping rules during Game 4 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals.

During that time, LeBron even admitted he was cheating the game, and purposely flopped to give his team an advantage during the series:

"Some guys have been doing it for years, just trying to get an advantage," James said. "Any way you can get an advantage over the opponent to help your team win, so be it."

The man has had no shame in his embellishment and trickery. I'm sure Kobe has been rolling in his grave watching a player call himself "The King," but play like a jester.

Now, let me present you some of the worst flops in LeBron's Los Angeles Lakers career. It's not an exhaustive list, but it should either make you laugh, or want to punch a hole through your phone, tablet, or computer.

This amount of shameless flopping, for the vast majority of his career, is precisely why I believe LeBron's legacy will forever be tainted, and he will never be respected as much as some of the all-time greats, such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Sure, his longevity is impressive, as are his athletic abilities and physical traits. He's etched in the history books for points, games, championships, and many more accomplishments. But in the court of public opinion, he's left the NBA worse than he found it.

As Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said in the 2023 playoffs, speaking about the Lakers flopping, led by LeBron, "You give them credit, but you lament the fact that as a league we're going to reward that type of play…"

The NBA has not only allowed the face of its league to get away with flopping and fake injuries, it has actively rewarded him, which has led to players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, well on his way to being the new face of the league, doing the same. It's one of the reasons a lot of people can’t stand the modern-day NBA. We understand that the NBA, as does every professional sports league, wants to protect its stars, and they undoubtedly get favorable whistles. But, when your stars are pulling these stunts, without consequence, and at the expense of the game's integrity, it frustrates fans. If the NBA wants to keep its fans, and attract them to its stars, it needs to lay the hammer down. Enough is enough. Save the embellishment for soccer and let's get back to tough basketball.

LeBron managed to recover from his devastating elbow injury in Thursday's contest, though he was confused which elbow was actually hurt as he rolled on the baseline, yelling in agony. He returned to the game with just more than two minutes left in the fourth in a 120-112 loss.