In the first round of the NBA playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Brandon Ingram’s Raptors in game one by a score of 126-113.
During the postgame presser, Ingram threw head coach Darko Rajaković under the bus, which led to criticism from NBA Legends like Paul Pierce, Tony Allen, and Danny Green.
NBA Legends Call Out Brandon Ingram for Postgame Comments
During the regular season, Ingram averaged 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.7 blocks, and 0.8 steals per game. He also shot 47.7% from the field, 38.2% from 3-point range, and 82% from the free-throw line.
His efforts, mixed with those of teammates like RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes, propelled the Raptors to a regular-season record of 46-36, which earned them the fifth seed for the NBA playoffs.
In game one against the Cavaliers, the team lost by 13 points, prompting Ingram to criticize his head coach.
“Coach wanted to use me as a screener. He noticed that my man wasn’t coming off of me. He wanted me outside of the action a little bit, and being a receiver. At the end of the day, me shooting 9 shots is not going to win basketball games. Just got to figure out ways where I can still be effective while they’re doing whatever defence.”
In response to Ingram’s reaction, each NBA legend said the following:
Pierce specifically said, “For him to go to the press conference and say coaches made me a screener, or me getting 9 shots, that has nothing to do with coaches… you are a number one, you are an all-star, that’s not their fault. If you sitting there, and you just sitting back to the side… no. Be vocal about that.”
“If I got one shot at the end of the first quarter, and I’m our number one option, there’s a problem. There’s definitely a problem. Is Brandon Ingram the guy on this team? Is he the guy? Get the rebound, and bring it up, and do something with it. Say something in the timeout!. I always get mad at players who go to the press conference after, who are the number one option, talking about, ‘I only got this many shots.’ No, that ain’t happening, homie,” Pierce continued.
Green added, “I’m just not a fan of the press conference. If the series is over, then you can say some things that you saw that happened. But after game one…Maybe Darko was trying to use screening to get you to mismatch to switch off. But, you be a screener and still demand the ball. Set a good screen, get the mismatch, go get the ball. They need a floor general. That’s probably why you’re missing (Immanuel) Quick’. But yeah, he didn’t need to speak on it.”
Finally, Allen adds, “For him to get up there, and say that, I’m like ‘ahh.’ Too early (in the series), though. I can see if that was Game 6 or 7.”
Paul Pierce, Tony Allen, and Danny Green went OFF after listening to Brandon Ingram’s postgame comments. 😳
PP: “For him to go to the press conference and say coaches made me a screener, or me getting 9 shots, that has nothing to do with coaches[…] you a number one (option),… https://t.co/cOJbzIiPPp pic.twitter.com/KksYHeqLGf
— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) April 20, 2026
Each of the retired players in the video above is an NBA Champion, so what they have to say about Ingram carries a lot of weight. The Raptors are only down one game, and it’s very possible they can still prevail in the series. However, it’ll take Ingram getting his mind right and being on the same page with his team and coach for that to happen.
