Boston Celtics
“I’m not looking to flop or anything like that. But it’s almost like you’ve got to.”
Jaylen Brown was happy to see Jayson Tatum back on the court Friday. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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Jaylen Brown’s frustrations with NBA officiating are well-documented at this point.
He had such an issue with it after the Celtics’ first loss against the Spurs that he publicly said he would take the fine for the curse words he was about to say while commenting on the job the referees did.
He was ejected during the first half of the Celtics’ loss against the Spurs during a confrontation with an official and posted about it on social media after he was thrown out.
“This is the [expletive] I be talking about,” he wrote.
After Thursday night’s loss to Oklahoma City, during which reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record for most consecutive games with 20-plus points, Brown once again voiced concerns about how the game is being called.
According to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, Brown did not say which play he had an issue with, but seemed frustrated with the result.
“You know, I just, I don’t foul bait,” Brown said. “I’m not looking to flop or anything like that. But it’s almost like you’ve got to. It’s almost like, because there’s a couple of plays in the fourth quarter, but I feel like I drove strong, and I didn’t get the benefit of the doubt, but maybe if I would have flopped, maybe I was able to sell that call, and those decide games.”
“So it’s like, we commend players for playing the game the right way,” he added. “But you know, we give the benefit to those who necessarily are trying to manipulate the game to their advantage. I just don’t think it’s basketball. Let’s just play basketball. All the foul baiting, I think is, is whatever for me.”
Brown joked that, perhaps, he needed to “flop a little bit more” to increase the amount of favorable calls that he gets.
“It’s one thing to get fouled,” Brown said. “But it’s like when you’re not even trying to score, when you’re like, driving and flailing your body into them just to make it look like you’re getting fouled, I think that’s the part where it’s like, ‘Alright, come on.’ But I mean, that’s where our league is at. That’s where the NBA is at. So it’s like, either get down and lay down.”
Brown played a game-high 41 minutes against Oklahoma City, scoring 34 points during the narrow loss to the defending champions. He made 13 of his 14 free-throw attempts. He had seven assists against six turnovers.
After the game, he briefly touched on his ejection from Tuesday night’s game in San Antonio.
“To be honest, I don’t think I deserved to get ejected,” he said. “Obviously, I was pissed that I didn’t get to compete in that game. That was another big time matchup that I circled on my calendar. Obviously, playing against the Spurs, [they’re] a good team, and I came out to a great start. Felt great. I felt like I was ready to have a big-time performance.”
“And you know, my night got ended short. In certain spots, maybe I could have been a little bit better,” he added. “But, you know, you’re passionate. It’s a big game. You know, you want to see emotion. You want to see your star players showing that emotion. I don’t think I deserve to get tossed and, you know, I think the NBA agreed because I didn’t get fined or anything like that.”
The Celtics have lost three of their last five games, including two out of three on their most recent road trip. They’ll return home for a contest against the Wizards on Saturday.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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