Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry talk potential NBA challenge flags
By Bryan Rose
Was the runner safe or out? You can certainly challenge such in MLB. Did the wide receiver catch a touchdown or was he out of bounds? You can certainly challenge such in the NFL. Did a player commit a foul in the NBA? That’s up to the discretion of the referee, which isn’t something Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is all that thrilled with.
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While the NBA has implemented the use of partial replay, there are still plenty of situations that are not reviewable and Stephen Curry believes the league needs to add a challenge flag system like the NFL and MLB.
“Obviously refs are human and they miss calls,” Stephen Curry said. “To be able to make sure they got the right one — maybe give the coach a little flag like they do in football and he gets two or three challenges a game to make sure they get the right call, especially in pivotal situations.”
Most obvious situations (two or three point basket, out of bounds, clock time) are reviewable so it’s not completely clear as to what type of situations Curry is asking to be reviewable. The biggest issue is likely a foul call, though we’d essentially see a challenge (or multiple) in just about every single game considering how close most NBA scores are.
It seems like a good idea on the surface, but it seems rather difficult to implement. That’s the thought of Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant who isn’t a fan of the idea.
“To be honest, I wouldn’t like to see anything changed because I like how the game is played,” Durant said. “It’s not too much control by the coaches or refs or a player, I think it’s perfect how it is.”
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