It isn’t new for players to criticize referees following a hard-fought game. Jaylen Brown continued the action after the Boston Celtics’ nail-biting loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night. He didn’t even try to sugarcoat his words, which surely means the NBA will issue quite a punishment. A few NBA analysts attempted to estimate the potential fine amount.
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It’s well-known around the NBA that Brown is one of the most respectful players in the league. He is also quite educated and doesn’t say anything without thinking about it first. Taking all that into consideration, that is why his post-game rant was all the more shocking.
“I’ll accept the fine at this point. I thought it was some bulls*** tonight,” Brown said. “They’re a good defensive team, but they ain’t that damn good. Every time we play a good team, the inconsistency is crazy. I’ll take the f******* fine.”
Brown didn’t mince his words when speaking about the officiating. Most players take the subtle approach to avoid receiving a hefty fine from the league. Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason’s recent call-out of the referees is a perfect example. Instead of boldly professing his feelings to the media like Brown, he simply used the term ‘Zebras’ to get his point across following the Rockets’ loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Eason’s decision will certainly save him some money. Brown, on the other hand, won’t have that luxury. However, the Celtics star understood the consequences before voicing his frustrations. The amount of the fine remains unknown, but the Hoop Collective crew tried to pinpoint what the amount could be.
“I’ll take [$25,000],” said Tim MacMahon. Tim Bontemps didn’t quite agree with his co-host, believing the number to be greater.
“$35,000. If you basically are accusing the refs by name of a conspiracy against you, it’s not going to be the standard, ‘the refs stink, I’m going to get fined,'” Bomtemps proclaimed.
Brian Windhorst sided with Bontempts on the mark of $35,000. Although the crew couldn’t be on the same page, they were able to have a consensus decision on the reality of why the Celtics ended up losing to the Spurs, and it has nothing to do with the officiating.
“He had a horrific fourth quarter and then went in the locker room and said the ref screwed us the whole game because we didn’t get foul shots,” Bontemps said.
It isn’t an exaggeration to say that Brown had a horrific fourth-quarter performance. The former NBA Finals MVP went 1-9 from the field and tallied two turnovers while playing the entire period. Brown’s belief that he should’ve received a few foul calls doesn’t excuse his lacklustre performance.
At the surface level, Brown’s comments appear to suggest there’s a conspiracy against him as a player. As Bontemps explains, there’s a reason behind the loss rather than the refs having an agenda against him. Funny enough, this isn’t the first time Brown has fallen back on a conspiracy of some sort.
Brown claimed there was an agenda against him after he failed to make the Team USA roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. His frustrations were valid, considering he was on top of the basketball world after leading the Celtics to a championship while receiving ECF and NBA Finals MVP.
Nonetheless, time will tell what Brown’s fine will be. It’ll be interesting to see if there’s a change in how he’s officiated or whether his outburst was all for nothing.
