Basketball On The Internet.

FLOPPING, the "fine art of exaggerating contact" on a basketball court to illicit a favourable call, will remain a problem for the NBL until everyone works to eradicate it.

That's the opinion of new NBL referees' boss Albert Joseph who says the flopping play needs coaches and players to "buy in" so that it isn't solely the domain of officials to adjudicate.

"I've asked the coaches to assist in this and they all agree flopping is a blight on our game," Joseph said.

"I spoke with the players and they said: 'We hate flopping' but when I asked can we count on you to police it with team-mates, the response was they were happy if a team-mate did it and got away with it."

And thereby hangs the problem, no coach actively encouraging it either- most despise it - but happy to take the call if it is favourable.

Joseph said it could not just be left to referees, the issue raising its head again when diminutive 36ers guard Nathan Sobey was warned for a flop when he took contact from Melbourne shooter Chris Goulding last Friday and hit the floor.

"Yes, Nathan gets hit," Joseph said. "Did he exaggerate the contact? A little.

"Did he deserve a flopping warning? Probably not."

Joseph said referees could not take preconceived bias into games in which the league's most notorious floppers were involved.

"They need to judge calls on their merits," he said.

"The main reason it's difficult is because we see all contact situations differently."

Joseph believes the officiating has taken steps to bridge potential conflict gaps because referees have been told to "use their voices before using their whistles".

"In dealing with conflict situations, we need to have mature and adult discussions to resolve them," he said.

"The players have been outstanding in relation to that.

"And it's working out, according to coaches, quite well.

"The refs are trying to get their voice in before contact occurs."

Joseph, who is based in Sydney, has been meeting with coaches around the league personally, to get their direct feedback.

He said generally the season start had been positive.