{"id":1574,"date":"2011-03-23T07:51:43","date_gmt":"2011-03-23T12:51:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pauleide.com\/?p=1574"},"modified":"2019-12-05T08:35:05","modified_gmt":"2019-12-05T14:35:05","slug":"vlade-divac-flop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/i80sportsblog.com\/vlade-divac-flop\/","title":{"rendered":"Vlade Divac Flop and the Wussification of the NBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Vlade Divac Flop game is a fun drinking game you can play with friends while watching an NBA game, no matter who the teams are.<\/h1>\n

Every time a player on either team flops or whines about a \u201cno call\u201d chug your beer or take a shot. If you follow the rules, you\u2019ll be drunk by halftime. If you want to slow it down a little, only take a drink when a ref actually calls a charge.<\/p>\n

For as frequently as they are called when they shouldn\u2019t be, you\u2019ll have a nice buzz by the fourth quarter but will still be able to hit the club after the game.<\/p>\n

Believe it or not younger NBA fans, the NBA wasn\u2019t always like this. Until a weird man with a weird beard was imported from Yugoslavia to the United States. Fearing the physical style of play that the NBA was known for at the time, this European counterpart had to develop a method to survive; and the \u201cVlade Divac Flop\u201d was born.<\/p>\n

Vlade\u00a0invented the flop when he played for the\u00a0Lakers\u00a0and really honed his flopping craft we he came to Sacramento and had to guard\u00a0Shaquille\u00a0O\u2019Neal man to man on the low blocks.<\/h2>\n

From 1999 to 2002 it was the only way the Kings could hang with the superior talent of the\u00a0Lakers, but LA would always prevail. But thanks to the success\u00a0Vlade\u00a0enjoyed with the flop, other players began to use it in ever increasing frequency.<\/p>\n

Even when he wasn\u2019t guarding\u00a0Shaq,\u00a0Vlade\u00a0employed the flop at least five times a game throughout the end of the 90\u2019s and into early 2000\u2019s.\u00a0Vlade\u2019s\u00a0flop was unlike any other flop I have ever seen. It literally looked like a sniper shot him in the back the way his arms and legs flailed before his body tumbled to the earth.<\/p>\n

He would also make this weird\u00a0Eurotrash\u00a0face that looked like he was saying,\u00a0\u201cOhhhh!\u201d in tremendous pain.<\/h2>\n

In a way to counteract the flop and remove some of the grey area regarding making the call in the first place, the NBA in 1997 instituted the \u201cNo-Charge Area\u201d, which was a half circle that covered a four foot radius. This made it a brainless call for the officials made it harder for the players to dispute or whine about a particular call.<\/p>\n

I think the NBA was a lot cooler when you didn\u2019t have guys flopping, trying to draw a charge every time a guy with the ball gets anywhere near them. In the early 90\u2019s a charge was only called if someone got\u00a0steamrolled, which is why the rule was created in the first place.<\/p>\n

And why do they do this? Because the refs award such behavior. Half the time the players on the court act like a charge is going to be called even when it isn\u2019t thanks to the\u00a0hi-jinks.<\/p>\n

So if you’re looking for someone to blame, blame the Vlade\u00a0Divac flop. And his beard.<\/p>\n

More NBA, You Fiend:<\/h3>\n