Some NBA fans may have missed it given that Bam Adebayo somehow went for a second-in-NBA-history and Kobe-eclipsing 83 points last night in a win over the Wizards, but Jaylen Brown got ejected from the Spurs-Celtics game on some true nonsense after he argued a missed call in the first half.
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On almost any other night, an MVP candidate getting run from a nationally televised game between two Finals contenders would have been the lead story, and for that reason, Adam Silver has to be grateful for what Bam accomplished, because what happened to Brown was a brutal look for the league and its officials.
That doesn’t mean the story is going away anytime soon, especially because Stephen A. Smith took up the cause on this morning’s First Take. For over four minutes he ranted on how awful Brown’s ejection was, and he spent most of the time targeting the official who gave him his second technical.
“Remember, he was pushed. It was a missed call by the official,” Stephen A. said. “But here’s the most egregious part about this … the crew chief is Tyler Ford. Suyash Mehta is an underling! He’s not the crew chief. And Tyler Ford missed the call. That’s who Jaylen Brown approached. And then the official, Mehta, he comes in and ejects him. Why?! It was none of your business! You had nothing to do with the play!”
Brown was so upset about the ejection that he had to be restrained by teammates before leaving the court. Who can blame him? He’s received technicals before, but he doesn’t have a reputation as a hothead. In fact, he’s consistently shown himself to be one of the most intelligent, calm, and well-spoken players in the league.
Brown has been critical of the officiating, especially this season. Ironically, he called it out after another game against the Spurs in January, which might be why he was so upset this time that the refs missed what was another obvious call in his eyes. Afterwards, he posted his thoughts on X.
This the shit I be talking about
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) March 11, 2026
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was a bit more cheeky with his criticism of the officiating. “I just give a ton of credit to my high school principal. He had the balls to throw a student out. He didn’t leave it to the hall monitor,” he said in the post-game press conference. Tatum chimed in, too, calling the refs “trigger happy.”
Stephen A. is known for being loud about many topics that he’s passionate about, but he’s right to be loud on this one. This was a huge game and a possible Finals preview. The Celtics just recently welcomed back Jayson Tatum, so throwing Brown out ostensibly put a bigger workload on his back, even as he’s still working his way back to full speed.
Most stars get some leeway from the refs in situations like this, and with the way he’s playing this year, Brown is definitely a star. He’s a legit MVP candidate for a team that’s currently second in the East and vying to win its second title in three years. Fans tuning in wanted to see him and Tatum battle Victor Wembanyama and the red-hot Spurs. What they got instead was just the latest edition of The Ref Show.
