Flagrant fouls are naturally controversial. They exist in shades of gray and are often born out of emotional situations. How they're handed out can alter games and even entire playoff series.
Reasonable fans, coaches, players and even referees can disagree over them. Just like last season, when Game 4 of the NBA Finals created some controversy on flagrant fouls called and not called.
So here's a simple FAQ to help understand them better. Or, at the very least, help understand how NBA referees call them:
Q: So what's the difference between a flagrant foul 1 and a flagrant foul 2?