The landscape of the NBA would be much different without the likes of Vlade Divac opening the door for European talent to walk through. For that, we should all be grateful to him. We may never have seen the likes of Manu Ginobili or Toni Kukoc in an NBA uniform.
However, more foreign-born players are not all that the Yugoslavian seven-footer brought to the pro game. He also mastered the flop as well as the "did I do that?" shoulder shrug.
He passed this technique on to Chris Weber in Sacramento while the two played together for the Kings, and it spread through the league like wildfire.
In fact, players have overused the innocent act so much that NBA league officials have had to implement a new rule outlawing excessive argumentative behavior or arguing calls of any kind, for that matter. The rule is to be enforced by referees issuing technical fouls to players who can't control their outbursts.
The referees have already begun enforcing the rule in the 2010 NBA preseason, and targeted players haven't kept their whining to the confines of the court.
Players have become so accustomed to talking through temper tantrums that they are ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by John Durst
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