It took Jaylen Brown less than 24 hours to start the blame game after he and the Boston Celtics were eliminated from the NBA playoffs.
The 2024 NBA Finals MVP blamed the referees for having “an agenda” against him and compulsively calling offensive fouls against him. He was called for 10 offensive fouls in the seven-game series versus the Philadelphia 76ers, five more than any other player.
“They clearly had an agenda, maybe because I spoke so critical on them in the regular season, so you know, how they responded,” Brown said of the referees.
“Like, we are going to call every—you are going to lead the playoffs in offensive fouls. That was the response from the officiating crew. You could clearly tell.”
Jaylen Brown Gets Called Out
Brown also took issue with Joel Embiid’s “flopping” and suggested that the Sixers star knowingly manipulated the officials in the series.
“Flopping has ruined our league,” Brown said on his Twitch stream. “Joel Embiid is one of the greatest players that has played basketball, but he flops. He knows it too.”
Former NBA All-Star Michael Redd took serious issue with Brown’s comments, urging the Celtics star to “take ownership” for the Game 7 loss rather than making excuses.
“Jaylen Brown is a great player. A great player. Fans just need slightly more right now,” Redd began in his passionate rant on X.
“I need to rewatch game tape, to know if Brown’s right or not, but what I do know is: fans don’t want to hear this the day after losing a G7 as the higher seed.
“They need accountability and ownership of what happened. They need to know you appreciate the gravity and can and will bounce back.
“Then, and only then, can you start diving into who else is to blame and what outside factors might have played a role.”
Redd concluded his message by making it clear that he hadn’t watched the entire Twitch stream and didn’t want to assume the Celtics star didn’t take accountability.
Celtics Blow 3-1 Series Lead
Brown was a -19 on the floor in Games 5, 6 and 7 as the Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead for the first time in franchise history.
The Celtics were outscored by 57 points with Brown on the floor in the final three losses, when he shot 41.8% from the field and 31.6% from three.
Although he finished with a team-high 33 points, including 20 in the second half, in the Game 7 loss, Brown missed four consecutive shots in the final five minutes of the game when the Celtics trailed 97-96. His cold stretch in the end allowed the Sixers to outscore the Celtics, 12-6, in the clutch to come away with a 109-100 win.
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Called Out for Making Excuses After Game 7 Loss