In basketball, a flop is a dive taken by a defensive player when contact is made with an offensive player in hopes that the referee will call a charging foul on the offensive player. This can sometimes also be called "acting," as in "acting like he was fouled."

Derogatorily referred to as "flopping," this is generally considered to be less than sportsman-like, even though it is widely practiced and even perfected by many great professional players.

Flopping is not easy to do, primarily because drawing contact can sometimes result in the opposite effect - a foul called on the defensive player - when too much contact is drawn or if the player has not positioned himself perfectly. To consistently draw offensive fouls on opponents takes good body control and a great deal of practice. Players generally become better at flopping as their careers progress.

Famous Floppers

While which players are or are not floppers is certainly a subject of some debate - hometown fans are generally unlikely to admit their favorite players engage in such gamesmanship - some past and present players have long-standing reputations as floppers. They include:

• Vlade Divac
• Derek Fisher
• Allen Iverson
• Steve Kerr
• Karl Malone
• Reggie Miller
• Charles Oakley
• Dennis Rodman
• John Stockton