diff --git a/defs.bzl b/defs.bzl
index 1b82520dcc..cb1375ff5f 100644
--- a/defs.bzl
+++ b/defs.bzl
@@ -46,6 +46,11 @@ def _pip_repository_impl(rctx):
             struct(exclude = rctx.attr.pip_data_exclude).to_json(),
         ]
 
+    if rctx.attr.enable_implicit_namespace_pkgs:
+        args += [
+            "--enable_implicit_namespace_pkgs"
+        ]
+
     result = rctx.execute(
         args,
         environment = {
@@ -80,6 +85,16 @@ python_interpreter.
         "pip_data_exclude": attr.string_list(
             doc = "Additional data exclusion parameters to add to the pip packages BUILD file.",
         ),
+        "enable_implicit_namespace_pkgs": attr.bool(
+            default = False,
+            doc = """
+If true, disables conversion of native namespace packages into pkg-util style namespace packages. When set all py_binary
+and py_test targets must specify either `legacy_create_init=False` or the global Bazel option
+`--incompatible_default_to_explicit_init_py` to prevent `__init__.py` being automatically generated in every directory.
+
+This option is required to support some packages which cannot handle the conversion to pkg-util style.
+            """,
+        ),
     },
     implementation = _pip_repository_impl,
 )
diff --git a/extract_wheels/__init__.py b/extract_wheels/__init__.py
index fccf1b0cb9..8184dac6aa 100644
--- a/extract_wheels/__init__.py
+++ b/extract_wheels/__init__.py
@@ -65,15 +65,18 @@ def main() -> None:
         help="The external repo name to install dependencies. In the format '@{REPO_NAME}'",
     )
     parser.add_argument(
-        "--extra_pip_args",
-        action="store",
-        help=("Extra arguments to pass down to pip."),
+        "--extra_pip_args", action="store", help="Extra arguments to pass down to pip.",
     )
     parser.add_argument(
         "--pip_data_exclude",
         action="store",
         help="Additional data exclusion parameters to add to the pip packages BUILD file.",
     )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--enable_implicit_namespace_pkgs",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="Disables conversion of implicit namespace packages into pkg-util style packages.",
+    )
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     pip_args = [sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "wheel", "-r", args.requirements]
@@ -91,7 +94,13 @@ def main() -> None:
         pip_data_exclude = []
 
     targets = [
-        '"%s%s"' % (args.repo, bazel.extract_wheel(whl, extras, pip_data_exclude))
+        '"%s%s"'
+        % (
+            args.repo,
+            bazel.extract_wheel(
+                whl, extras, pip_data_exclude, args.enable_implicit_namespace_pkgs
+            ),
+        )
         for whl in glob.glob("*.whl")
     ]
 
diff --git a/extract_wheels/lib/bazel.py b/extract_wheels/lib/bazel.py
index 85ba965d48..acda4c29fa 100644
--- a/extract_wheels/lib/bazel.py
+++ b/extract_wheels/lib/bazel.py
@@ -120,13 +120,18 @@ def setup_namespace_pkg_compatibility(wheel_dir: str) -> None:
 
 
 def extract_wheel(
-    wheel_file: str, extras: Dict[str, Set[str]], pip_data_exclude: List[str]
+    wheel_file: str,
+    extras: Dict[str, Set[str]],
+    pip_data_exclude: List[str],
+    enable_implicit_namespace_pkgs: bool,
 ) -> str:
     """Extracts wheel into given directory and creates a py_library target.
 
     Args:
         wheel_file: the filepath of the .whl
         extras: a list of extras to add as dependencies for the installed wheel
+        pip_data_exclude: list of file patterns to exclude from the generated data section of the py_library
+        enable_implicit_namespace_pkgs: if true, disables conversion of implicit namespace packages and will unzip as-is
 
     Returns:
         The Bazel label for the extracted wheel, in the form '//path/to/wheel'.
@@ -140,7 +145,9 @@ def extract_wheel(
 
     # Note: Order of operations matters here
     purelib.spread_purelib_into_root(directory)
-    setup_namespace_pkg_compatibility(directory)
+
+    if not enable_implicit_namespace_pkgs:
+        setup_namespace_pkg_compatibility(directory)
 
     extras_requested = extras[whl.name] if whl.name in extras else set()