Finally. Finally, someone has the guts to say what we're all thinking.
Cade Cunningham sat down with GQ and didn't hold anything back. The Pistons superstar went after the flopping epidemic that's taken over the NBA, and he pulled exactly zero punches.
"The flopping is just too much," Cunningham said. "Three of the top 5-10 guys do it constantly. I know I'm better than yada yada yada, but I'm not getting the same calls. People feel like this guy might be better than me, and he's nowhere near better than me!"
And you know what? He's right. The flopping has gotten ridiculous. We've got superstars throwing themselves to the floor at the slightest contact, acting like they got hit by a truck when a guy breathes on them. It's killing the integrity of the game.
What I love about this is that Cunningham isn't just talking - he's backing it up on the court. The night after this interview dropped, he went into Madison Square Garden and dropped 42 points and 13 assists. He's playing at an MVP level, and he's doing it the right way.
No flopping. No theatrics. Just pure basketball.
"I'm not going to change my game to get calls," Cunningham added. "I'm going to keep playing the right way, keep being aggressive, and the refs are going to have to figure it out."
This is the conversation the NBA needs to have. When did we get to a point where acting skills matter as much as basketball skills? When did selling contact become more valuable than making the right play?
The league has been trying to crack down on flopping for years with fines and warnings, but clearly it's not working. When in the league are doing it regularly, that's a systemic problem.
