Image Source: NBA.com
[Saba Sports News] The Orlando Magic aren’t doing their reputation any favors lately.
On Saturday, the NBA announced that Magic guard Jalen Suggs received a $2,000 postgame flopping fine for an incident in Friday’s NBA Cup game against the Brooklyn Nets.
In the third quarter, Suggs was playing tight defense on Brooklyn’s Tyrese Martin and dramatically flailed after Martin attempted to create space.
But that wasn’t the only fine handed out. Magic center Goga Bitadze was also hit with a $2,000 flopping fine from the same game. His incident occurred later in the third quarter when, during a transition play, Brooklyn’s Ben Simmons nudged Bitadze in the paint. Bitadze exaggerated the contact, thrashing around and ending up out of bounds by the baseline in an attempt to sell the foul.
The ironic twist? Neither flop worked. Suggs was called for a foul on Martin, while no whistle was blown in the Bitadze-Simmons exchange. However, the Magic still cruised to a 123-100 victory.
The NBA has long been able to retroactively issue flopping fines upon review, as they did here. While fines have been part of the league for years, in-game penalties for flopping were introduced just last season and are occasionally enforced during games.