The Flopper’s Dilemma
In basketball, a flop is a play in which a player tries to make it appear as though another player fouled them in order to draw a foul from the official. These plays have recently been getting a lot of scrutiny due to fans, coaches, and opposing players who believe that this is a form of cheating. The NBA has begun fining players anywhere from 5,000 to 30,000 dollars depending on the amount of times the player has actually been caught flopping. This suggests that there is a big risk in flopping in that there is plenty to lose if one is unsuccessful in their to flop however not much to gain if someone is successful as, at best, there team gains possession of the ball.
Presh Talwalkar likens the decision to flop to the prisoner’s dilemma in that the player has the individual choice on whether or not to flop similar to how the prisoner has the individual choice of whether or not to confess. In basketball, like the prisoner’s dilemma, the athletes are inclined to try to gain every advantage possible hence the urge to flop similarly to how the prisoners feel to the urge to confess in order to try and incriminate the other prisoner. And if both players choose to flop then they both suffer, similarly to how if both prisoners choose to not confess they suffer. Therefore, the actual setup in the game of whether or not to flop is somewhat identical to the prisoner’s dilemma. In other words, the 3 strategies to play both games are: “Cooperation, Betrayal, and Mutual Destruction.” Ultimately, as Talwalkar states, “while the double flop is a mockery of the game, it is arguably a sensible outcome strategically and a pure example of the mutually destructive outcome in a prisoner’s dilemma.”