Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown called out what he sees as an NBA trend of players being rewarded for “foul baiting” following Thursday’s 104-102 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, as reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Brown scored 34 points in the game while attempting 14 free throws, tied for his third-highest total of the season.
The All-Star spoke publicly for the first time since his ejection on Tuesday against the San Antonio Spurs, when he received two technical fouls for arguing that a foul should have been called on Stephon Castle.
Brown said, “I don’t know, maybe it all works in the end, but I just don’t foul bait…It’s almost like, because there’s a couple of plays in the fourth quarter where I felt like I drove strong, went up strong, and I didn’t get the benefit of the doubt. But maybe if I would have flopped, maybe I would have been able to sell that call. And those decide games.”
Brown emphasized that he plays the game aggressively but without exaggerating contact, defining foul baiting as “accentuating contact…when you’re not even trying to score when you’re driving and flailing your body into [a defender] just to make it look like you’re getting fouled.” He added, “We commend players for playing the game the right way, but we give the benefit to those who necessarily are trying to manipulate the game into their advantage.”
The Celtics’ star did not specifically mention Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, though the Thunder guard has drawn similar scrutiny for drawing fouls, ranking third in the league with 9.2 free throw attempts per game. Brown, meanwhile, ranks 15th at 7.1 attempts. In Thursday’s game, Brown attempted six more free throws than Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 35 points while extending his 20-point streak to 127 games.
Brown also expressed frustration at missing the entire second half against the Spurs, calling it a game he had circled due to the opponent’s caliber. “I felt like I was ready to have a big-time performance, and my night got cut short…You want to see emotion. You want to see your star players showing that emotion. I don’t think I deserve to get tossed,” he said, noting that the NBA did not fine him for the ejection.
Through 59 games this season, Brown is averaging 28.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per contest while playing 34.1 minutes per game. The Celtics currently sit second in the Eastern Conference at 43-23.
