Jaylen Brown recently drew the NBA’s attention for his criticism of officiating. During the Boston Celtics’ game against the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 10, Brown expressed frustration with how the referees handled the contest.
In his postgame interview, Brown called out the officials and identified one by name to emphasize who he believed was making mistakes. The Celtics star acknowledged he would be fined and said he did not mind paying. Despite the penalty, Brown has doubled down on his remarks.
Jaylen Brown Expressed His Thoughts on NBA Referees
NBA referees are often scrutinized when determining why certain teams win or lose. At times, their calls can significantly influence the outcome of a game.
While not suggesting games are fixed, some players believe opposing teams receive favorable calls. In this instance, Brown said he felt the officials worked against Boston during its game against the San Antonio Spurs last weekend.
Brown was fined $35,000 on Tuesday after making comments about the officials. Seemingly unbothered by the situation, the Celtics star continued to comment on the referees even after being fined.
Brown pointed out that the Celtics are the team that gets sent to the free-throw line the least this season. He feels it is disrespectful how many foul calls are often missed when the action is being committed against Boston.
“I think something had to be said,” Brown said. “As a team, we get to the free-throw line the least in the league. So just protecting our guys and myself. I think that we deserve a little bit of more respect.
“For us to be last, I just think we need a little bit more respect,” Brown continued. “We come out and compete; we’re one of the top teams in the league. … I do the same things that they do. They just pick and choose who they like to call it on. That’s the part that pisses me off.”
Per NBA statistics, the Celtics currently get to the free-throw line less than any other team, averaging 18.7 attempts and 14.8 makes per game. That is nearly 10 fewer attempts per game than the Orlando Magic, who have been to the line more than any other team this season.
“It should just be everybody should just get reffed evenly and consistently, but it just seems like there’s an agenda where some guys they choose to call certain fouls for, some guys they don’t. So I don’t know what goes into that decision-making, but it’s kind of clear that certain guys on certain teams, certain markets, or certain profiles get preferential treatment versus others when it should just be basketball,” Brown concluded.
The Celtics are the only team with fewer than 600 free throws made as the season nears its halfway mark. All other NBA teams have attempted and made at least 600 free throws.
