The Boston Celtics suffered a narrow loss against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. The final score was 100-95 in the Spurs’ favor, but the major disparity was in free throws attempted by both teams. And after the game, Jaylen Brown did not hold back while slamming the referees.
The NBA has an officiating problem; this has been evident for a while. In the game in question, the Celtics shot only four free throws the entire game. In a league where teams average 25 free throws a night, that number does feel quite ridiculous. And Brown was blunt in his assessment of the officiating.
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Jaylen Brown sounded off on the officiating after the Celtics attempted just 4 free-throws tonight:
“I'll accept the fine at this point. I thought it was some bullshit tonight. They're a good defensive team, but they ain't that damn good. I hope somebody can just pull up the… pic.twitter.com/p1hybbCamx
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) January 11, 2026
“I’ll accept the fine at this point,” Brown told the media after the game. “I thought it was some bull**** tonight. They’re a good defensive team, but they ain’t that damn good. I hope somebody can just pull up the clips, because it’s the same B.S. every time we play a good team.
“It’s like they refuse to make a call, then they call touch fouls on the other end, and that’s just extremely frustrating, bro… Every time we play a good team, the inconsistency is crazy. I’ll take the f***ing fine.”
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Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown drives to the basket against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Brown calling out the NBA refs is a good thing. Accountability is key if the officiating is to reach an acceptable level of consistency. At the moment, it seems the standards for what constitutes a foul change from game to game. JB might get fined, but more stars need to ask these questions if they wish to see change.
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