Jaylen Brown has been playing some of the most complete basketball of his career, and he knows it, but after several games this season, the All-Star made it clear he believes his production has come without the same officiating benefits afforded to other elite players.
Speaking candidly about NBA refereeing after he was fined $35k for similar comments, Brown suggested there is an uneven standard applied across the league.
“I do the same things that they do,” Brown said, via The Athletic. “They just pick and choose who they like to call it on. That’s the part that pisses me off. 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 did not name specific players, but his message landed quickly with fans already frustrated by late-game officiating around the league.
Close finishes have repeatedly turned on borderline calls, and the perception that star power influences whistles has only intensified.
Brown complained to reporters after Saturday night’s 100-95 loss to the San Antonio Spurs that the officiating was inconsistent.
It was a game where shockingly, the Celtics shot four free throws and he shot none.
“I’ll accept the fine at this point,” he said. “I think they’re a good defensive team, but they ain’t that damn good. I hope somebody can just pull up the clips, because it’s the same (expletive) every time we play a good team. It’s like they refuse to make a call then call touch fouls on the other end.”
This season, The former Finals MVP has leaned into physicality, downhill attacks, and defensive responsibility rather than foul-baiting.
That approach has earned respect from fans who believe his production has come the hard way, without constant trips to the free-throw line.
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