Jaylen Brown battles an OKC defender amid a possible fine for his actions in that game.
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Jaylen Brown (l) of the Boston Celtics is looking a five-figure one for an action he took against Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
The Boston Celtics scored their most important win of the regular season on Wednesday when they beat the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder by 10 points at TD Garden. But for one of their two superstars, five-time All-Star Jaylen Brown, the statement victory could come with a hefty price tag.
After falling behind by 13 points early, the Celtics fought back with 70 second-half points against a full-strength OKC team that came into the game with the NBA’s best defensive rating (106.0) to take a decisive 119-109 victory. The Celtics’ win ended Oklahoma City’s 12-game winning streak and marked the first time the Thunder lost a game by double digits since Feb. 12, and only the seventh time this season. But an overly fired-up Brown could face a hefty fine for making a banned “violent” gesture during the game.
What did Brown do to draw a possible fine from the league? It was something he had done before, on Dec. 4, 2024, in a game against the Detroit Pistons. At that time, the gesture caused Brown to receive a $25,000 fine from the league.
Brown’s Signature ‘Grave Digger’ Celebration Could Draw a Fine
With the game tied at 75 with 4:06 left to play in the third quarter on Wednesday, Brown took an overhand pass from Celtics guard Derrick White just inside the 3-point line.
Brown then drove to the basket past Oklahoma City defender Alex Caruso and rose up for an emphatic dunk as OKC’s Jaylin Williams tried to defend.
“JAYLEN BROWN CAUGHT A BODY POSTER DUNK ON JAYLIN WILLIAMS,” wrote Celtics fan @BiggLynch on his social media account.
But when Brown landed, he immediately brought his extended right thumb to his throat in a slashing motion. That’s the same gesture that got Brown his $25,000 fine in 2024.
“Jaylen Brown POSTERIZED Jaylin Williams then hit the throat slash,” wrote the NBACentel fan account on X (formerly Twitter).
The throat-slash gesture, unfortunately for Brown, has been banned by the NBA since 1999. The NFL has banned the “inappropriate” celebratory gesture even longer, since 1991.
Brown Already Has One 5-Figure Fine This Season
Will the NBA fine Brown for the throat-slashing celebration this time? Asked after the game if he expected league discipline, Brown said that he did not complete the full throat slashing motion.
“I stopped it though. I didn’t,” Brown told reporters. “That’s the most important thing. The detail. I didn’t do it.”
The NBA generally announces fines within a day or two, so by the time the Celtics meet the Atlanta Hawks at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday at TD Garden, Brown should know whether he will be writing a $25,000 check to the league.
If he does, it will be the second time this season, and third in his career, that the Celtics’ 2016 No. 3 overall draft pick will have been hit with a five-figure NBA fine.
On Jan. 12, after a 100-95 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in which the Celtics were given only four foul shots all game, compared to 20 for the Spurs, Brown openly criticized the NBA officials in the game, saying, “I’m tired of the inconsistency. I’ll accept the fine at this point. I thought it was some b******t tonight.”
The NBA obliged Brown by leveling a $35,000 fine on the Celtics MVP candidate for his comments.
But even another $25,000 fine will not make much of a dent in Brown’s bank account. In the second year of his five-year “Supermax” contract, Brown is set to be paid $53.1 million in salary this season alone.