Jaylen Brown attacks officiating in Boston Celtics series loss to Philadelphia 76ers
Star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has not been a fan of how his game has been officiated since being drafted by the Celtics in 2016. And things have been especially fraught of late, with the unfriendly whistle the Georgia native has been getting in the 2026 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs first round not a minor part of what went wrong for the Celtics in their series loss to the Philadelphia 76ers . One can point to the fact that refs call postseason games tighter on some issues, and looser on physicality when hearing Brown's complaints, but he also made a case for unequal treatment by the officials given what he saw from his opponents in the first round.
Praising the skill of Sixers big man Joel Embiid, the Cal alum made a point of noting his tendency to sell contact on a recent Twitch stream . "This ain't breaking news," said Brown. "It is what it is.
" His use of his arm to create space got him into hot water with the refs in particular, which he took issue with given what he saw across the court. "If you're going to call push-offs, call that," said Brown. "Same move.
Same refs. Oh, it's nothing? It's play on, right?
But you're going to call me? Everybody does it... but if it would have been me, it'd have been an offensive foul.