He may be on his way to the All-Star Game as a reserve (that’s not set in stone but it seems likely, more on that later in the week) but Lance Stephenson is still drawing the ire of the league.
Indiana’s Stephenson was fined $5,000 by the league on Tuesday for flopping — it was his second violation of the season, so he gets a slap on the wrist fine. Here is the incident in question: Notice Klay Thompson tries to put a body on him to keep him out of the play, and Stephenson goes down like there was a sniper in the luxury boxes. The referees were not buying it, there was no call (the refs let the Pacers and Warriors get playoff game physical).
Stephenson’s first flop warning from the league came from a play against Kyle Lowry of the Raptors earlier in the season.
Stephenson becomes the third player to be fined by the league this season, joining James Harden and Corey Brewer. If the league determines any of them flop again, they get a $10,000 fine. There have been 18 other players warned by the league who have not had a second offense and drawn a fine yet.
These little fines are not going to deter any players from doing this if they think they can draw a call, especially in the playoffs or bigger games.