3. Blake Griffin

“He’s babied.”

That’s what DeMarcus Cousins had to say of Blake Griffin’s lackluster flopping performance earlier this season following a phantom foul call (see video).

It’s no secret that Cousins and Griffin have somewhat of a feud going on, but the Sacramento Kings’ young big man isn’t the only person to accuse Griffin of being a flopper.

Lakers forward Matt Barnes (who is a free agent this summer) has also referenced Griffin’s flops as “a part of his game.”

Some Los Angeles Clippers fans will defend Griffin by saying he’s targeted by other players and, as a result, takes some of the hardest fouls of anyone else in the NBA, so he deserves to flop now and again.

I counter that argument by saying that Griffin chooses to go for the highlight dunks every play down the floor. When he succeeds, he stares down cameras, fans and opponents while striking a pompous pose, which will not endear you to many people.

Showing up opposing crowds and teams by puffing your chest out and showboating isn’t good sportsmanship. I have a feeling that opposing teams are trying to send Blake a message with those hard fouls.

Sure it’s fun for the highlight reel and for Clips fans, but fans around the league and other NBA players take offense to his showboating.

Seeing that Griffin can hit himself in the face, flop and then stare at the referee in disbelief that no foul was called is proof enough that he should garner a spot on this list, babied or not.

2. Pau Gasol

1. Manu Ginobili

What’s your favorite Manu Ginobili flop?

How about the “we have evidence that he’s been doing this forever” flop?

Perhaps you’d like the “boy who cried wolf” flop?

Maybe the “filmed from the crowd” flop?

Or the “defended by my coach even though I had no business guarding Josh Smith in the paint” flop?

What about mixing it up with a “fall forward on my face” flop?

Possibly you'd enjoy the “filmed like the movies Cloverfield or The Blair Witch Project, but still shows the finished product of classic Ginobili” flop?

Or even “Infloption” (AKA a flop within a flop), as we see with Ginobili and Harden in this slide's video, remixed by this link?

After compiling this list of floppers, I asked as many of my basketball-loving friends as I could to come up with some floppers of their own. Every single one of them said Manu Ginobili. Some of them even listed him twice (or more).

One list was as follows:

Ginobili.

This particular friend of mine could not even think of anyone else worthy of this list, because Ginobili truly is the undisputed flopping king.

So a sarcastic congratulations is in store for perhaps the greatest flopper who ever lived, Manu Ginobili.

I suppose now we know precisely why James Harden is drawing comparisons to the Argentinian southpaw.

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Pau Gasol has without question mastered the “flailing arms” technique when flopping. Usually he throws in a banshee-esque scream for good measure, just to make sure he gets the point across that he was indeed “fouled.”

The funny thing about Gasol is that even when he’s legitimately fouled beyond a shadow of a doubt, he still makes the concentrated effort to yelp and thrash his arms like a wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man.

Again, it’s a shame that flopping is such a prevalent part of Gasol’s game considering he’s such a fantastic player, but that’s the NBA world we live in.

There’s also Gasol’s prevalent “soft” label, so maybe he’s really trying his best to stay on his feet.