'No (Expletive) Association': Warriors coach Steve Kerr blasts foul grifting

Joseph Dycus, Bay Area News Group on Oct 29, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — Steve Kerr fumed after the Warriors’ second loss of the season last Friday, a close defeat to the visiting Memphis Grizzlies that saw his team called for four moving screens, including one on Draymond Green that nullified what could have been the go-ahead basket by Steph Curry with 13 seconds remaining.

He derisively noted that the Grizzlies acted as if they had been hit by a car on the Warriors’ fouls.

Five days and three cities later, Kerr had a second salvo.

When asked Wednesday if he had seen the three flopping infractions called in a Lakers-Trail Blazers game the prior night, that was the opening Kerr needed to speak his mind before the Warriors’ 119-114 victory over the host Timberwolves.

“I think everybody is trying to figure out what’s a flop and what’s not,” Kerr said. “We feel like we’ve had some on illegal screens where guys are taking a dive, and we’ve sent them into the league, and you know, we’re discussing that. We’re having internal discussions about what is what, and I think everybody has to figure it out. The league made it a point of emphasis, but it seems to be only on certain actions.”

The league is plagued by nightly video compilations on social media of offensive players pushing off, whipping their heads back dramatically to simulate contact and falling down after jump shots to draw free throws. Kerr continued his monologue by taking aim at players who partake in the foul baiting.

“You know my take on the NBA. We should be the No (Expletive) Association,” Kerr said, “Every bit of (expletive) that the players try to pull, we should just say, ‘No. We’re not doing that.’ And it’s a better game when guys aren’t flopping, guys aren’t grabbing each other, hooking each other, running into screens and looking like they got hit by a car. It’s just a better game when the officials have the ability to just say, ‘No. We’re not buying into that.’

“And I feel like we are constantly, as a league, sort of behind the players. The players are grifting and we’re chasing them and we’re never getting ahead of it. And that’s my biggest issue.”

A week before the season, the NBA held a conference call led by head of referee development Monty McCutchen. The longtime game official aimed to clarify the new officiating points of emphasis.

He used a play by Curry as an example. In a game against the Raptors last season, the Warriors’ star drove into Jamal Shead and drew a foul. McCutchen said that call would not have been made this season.

He pointed to minimal contact and Curry’s exaggeration in assessing the play, ultimately giving direction on how to officiate such an action: “We want this to be a flop.”

During his speech in Minneapolis, Kerr made a point to differentiate flopping and grifting, using knowledge of positioning to force a legitimate foul by the defender. Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg noted after the Grizzlies game that he was hoping to figure out the little tricks that could help him get to the free-throw line.

Kerr believes that players inherently know what was and was not a foul, and asked the league to remain committed to curbing “grifting.”

“I talked to a good friend in the league who said that in training camp, they had the players call their own fouls,” Kerr said. “Because they were just tired of all the grifting. And when you have the players call their own fouls, they don’t flop. It’s just basketball.”

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said he simply wants flops to be called on offensive players who exaggerate defensive contact.

“All the flops are being called on the defense and that’s not what the people want out of the game … offensive players are baiting the game and falling down and getting unnecessary free throws,” Finch said. “That’s what (the fans) care about because that’s not really in the spirit of why everyone wants to tune in and watch. So, I feel like all these flops on the defense, at the moment, they’re probably just overemphasizing. But it’s the ones on the offense that I think have to be addressed.”

Kerr was clear that his strong feelings on foul grifting had nothing to do with what he thought about the quality of the officials in the league.

“It’s such a hard job. So I’m not complaining about the officiating,” Kerr said. “What I’m saying is we need to stay ahead of all the player grifting. Easier said than done, I get it, but we’ve consistently been behind here a decade.”