Celtics forward Jaylen Brown claims referees targeted him with an agenda during the team's first-round loss to the 76ers.
Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown expressed strong frustration with the referees during his team's seven-game first-round defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers. Appearing on a Twitch stream the following Sunday, Brown pointed directly at the officiating that he believed unfairly targeted him throughout the series. He also directed criticism at Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, accusing him of repeatedly flopping in a way that has negatively impacted the sport.
Jaylen Brown acknowledged Joel Embiid's status as an elite player and one of basketball's all-time great big men. However, he argued that Embiid frequently resorts to flopping, a tactic that Brown believes has damaged the integrity of the game. 'Joel Embiid is a great player. One of the best bigs in basketball history. [But he] flops. He know it,' Brown stated. 'This ain't breaking news. It is what it is.'
During the Twitch stream, Jaylen Brown shared a clip showing Philadelphia forward Paul George seemingly initiating contact with a slight push before making a play. 'If you're gonna call push-offs, call that,' Brown argued. 'Same move. Same refs. Oh, it's nothing? It's play on, right? But you gonna call me? Everybody does it .. but if it would have been me, it'd have been an offensive foul.'
Jaylen Brown was charged with 10 offensive fouls during the first-round series, double the amount of the next highest player, who each had five. The list of players tied with five included Jalen Duren, Karl-Anthony Towns, Neemias Queta, and Stephon Castle. During the regular season, Brown ranked second in the league with 40 offensive fouls called against him, trailing only Karl-Anthony Towns, who led with 65.
Jaylen Brown suggested that officials may have held a grudge against him due to his past public criticism. 'They clearly had an agenda,' he said. 'If Jaylen does this move, call the offensive foul and follow him every time. I don't know if it's because I pissed the refs off. I've been critical about them and I called them out a bunch of times. So they were like, 'You know what, I got you in the playoffs. Watch this.' [Because] that's exactly what they did.'
Jaylen Brown named three specific referees who he believes require scrutiny after officiating the final three games of the series. He insisted that the foul calls were not evenly applied, pointing to the disparity in how certain moves were judged depending on who committed them. 'It's clearly an agenda,' he reiterated. 'Look at the same move. Some referees that if I had to choose, if I had to, like, say there's some referees that need to be investigated.'
Despite the accusations of biased officiating, the total number of personal fouls called in the series was nearly identical between the two teams. The Boston Celtics were assessed 136 fouls, while the Philadelphia 76ers were called for 132.