NBA Power Rankings: Manu Ginobili and 10 Biggest Floppers in the NBA

Some NBA players have the ability to draw legitimate fouls, while others prefer to feign their way to the free-throw line.

Flopping has become an infamous art; there are a plethora of strategies and devices that are employed while on the hardwood, including acting. 

Plenty of players aim to draw charges or pump-fake their way to the charity stripe, but an increasingly alarming number of athletes have now taken to artificial tactics, perhaps in an attempt to audition their way toward an Emmy.

Paul Gasol

Typically, it is smaller players who feel the need to flop, as it offsets the disadvantage they face in the height department. That being said, as a big man, Pau Gasol is no stranger to utilizing the flop method.

Gasol's overall defense has improved over the years, but he seems to have an inherent need to fake getting pummeled. And while his methods have yielded results on occasion, the tendency to trip over a non-existent foot or withstand an imaginary blow to the chest or head have contributed to his reputation of being soft.

Unfortunately for the him, it is much more difficult to sell a power forward falling to the floor after barely getting brushed, so not too many calls go his way. It also doesn't help how blatant his flops are.

Luckily for Gasol, his basketball career panned out, because if it didn't, he had no shot at breaking into Hollywood.

Clip Synopsis: Gasol's flop backfires. Again.

J.J. Barea

The Timberwolves' J.J. Barea is one of the most underrated floppers of all-time.

Barea finally caught a glimpse of the spotlight while with the Mavericks last season, becoming a real asset on defense thanks to his ability to turn absolutely no contact into an offensive foul.

The undersized point guard's defensive tactics are questionable, at best, but his acting skills are undeniably impeccable. All Barea needs is for someone to turn their back on him, and he'll throw himself into the stands, selling it further afterward by wincing in pain.

Unlike Pau Gasol, Barea could have made it on the red carpet had his basketball career, like his defense, flopped.

Clip Synopsis: Barea tantalizes the Blazers on numerous occasions with some well executed flopping.

Reggie Evans

There's a reason that Reggie Evans has haunted the NBA courts for nearly a decade, and it's not because of his offensive prowess.

Evans has made a career out of playing dirty and drawing fouls that aren't. Despite standing at 6'8" and weighing in at 245 pounds, Evans apparently has the stability of a house of cards. 

While his antics are tasteless, his effectiveness is undeniable. He has a knack for putting key players in foul trouble, giving his team the opportunity to dig into a lead or build one of their own.

What truly is disconcerting about Evans' style of play is the frequency in which he hits the floor on purpose. It's happened so often that it's a wonder he even gets the call anymore.

Clip Synopsis: A trademark Evans flop at the expense of LaMarcus Aldridge.

Paul Pierce

Paul Pierce is nicknamed "The Truth," yet he's liable to get tangled up—literally—in a web of lies.

Any time a defender or player he is guarding comes even remotely within reaching distant of him, there is a better-than-good chance that Pierce will dramatically flail about in an attempt to draw a foul.

On more occasions than most would like to believe, the small forward is, in fact, able to swing the call his way. Even one of the greatest of all time, Kobe Bryant, has been rendered a victim of Pierce's flopping charades.

Is it right? Is it wrong? It doesn't matter. All that matters is Pierce is at his best when his acting is at his worst.

Clip Synopsis: Kobe Bryant becomes another face on Pierce's victimized flop cartons.

Chris Paul

Chris Paul is the most talented point guard in the league, but that doesn't mean he doesn't value the not-art of shortcuts.

As a point guard who likes to get into the lane, Paul gets a lot of calls to begin with, but that's strictly on the offensive side. Off the ball, on the defensive end, Paul must take a different approach.

And what better way to cause a turnover or get to the free-throw line than by creating an illusion?

The best—or worst, depending how you look at it—part about Paul's flops are how poorly executed they turn out. He purposely goes down more than most others in the league, yet he hasn't quite figured out how to make it look realistic on a consistent basis.

That being said, because he's Chris Paul, he usually gets the call anyway.

Clip Synopsis: A flop against Russell Westbrook that went horribly wrong.

Baron Davis

The NBA has not had the pleasure of being host to any of Baron Davis' flops yet this season, but if and when he returns, it's likely he'll make up for lost time.

In terms of actual defense, Davis is underrated. Why is he underrated? Because no one appreciates what he the respectable things he does because of his notorious flopping.

As Davis has aged, his scoring abilities have diminished, yet despite injuries, his flopping tendencies have not.

Should the Knicks opt to play him over the league wide sensation that is Jeremy Lin, they aren't only adding another true point guard to the mix, but a religious flopper.

Clip Synopsis: Davis left Memo Okur dazed after this flop.

Raja Bell

Raja Bell is a superb perimeter defender, but an even more renowned flopper.

Do you think Bell is above falling backward as pictured above in an effort to get David Lee or Monta Ellis called for a foul? If you do, you're mistaken.

Even the slightest of breeze from an arena vent could send Bell flying to floor. 

Bell's reputation as being a lock-down defender is partly due to an opponent's fear that a dangling shoe lace of theirs will leave him on the ground howling in pain. And instead of risking an offensive foul, they opt to pass.

At this stage of his career, if it wasn't for Bell's three-point shooting, there would likely be a stipulation in his contract that states he gets paid per successful flop.

Clip Synopsis: Kobe Bryant makes another cameo in this feature as Bell hits an apparently invisible wall. 

Anderson Varejao

Anderson Varejao is having arguably the best season of his career, but no matter how much legitimate production he totals, he will never live down his reputation as a flopping addict.

Varejao's knack for voluntarily crashing to the floor dates to LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers days. It has become clear over the past seven years that he would rather feign a fall or elbow to the face than play actual defense.

The power forward was praised for his defensive efforts upon entering the league, but few knew that being aggressive on that end of the ball entailed being a con artist.

Clip Synopsis: Do you think LeBron James' misses watching Varejao take imaginary hits?

Derek Fisher

Although Derek Fisher has a reputation for being a workhorse, he has been known to take the easy way out on more than one occasion.

Fisher never was an adept defender. He isn't especially quick, doesn't fight over screens well and isn't inclined to take a hit. Well, a real hit anyway.

An ineptitude on the defensive end leaves Fisher to take drastic and counterfeit measures. His head jerks back from a suffering a fake blow to the head so often that at 37, whiplash is the injury he is most susceptible to.

Off the court, the veteran point guard commands a substantial amount of respect. On the court? Well, that's a different story.

Clip Synopsis: Fisher propels himself off the shoulder of Paul Millsap to draw the not-a-foul.

Manu Ginobili

Manu Ginobili is the champion of all floppers. Seriously, he has the rings to prove it.

Ginobili is nowhere near as talented on the defensive side as he is on the offensive side, and consequently, he resorts to a questionable demeanor on that end.

To put it in perspective, when Ginobili broke his left hand earlier in the season, few people believed his painstaking facial distortions, as they had seen him fake more than his fair share injuries and fouls.

An exaggeration? Perhaps, but not by much.

At 34, and after suffering a serious injury, some would expect the shooting guard's flopping days to be over upon returning, in an effort to conserve his physical stature. Such trains of thought are misguided, as this is not something players simply grow out of or discontinue because of potential injury.

Once a flopper, always a flopper.

Clip Synopsis: Ginobili goes flop for flop against fellow flopster Raja Bell.

Follow @danfavale