Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown has accused NBA officials of having an 'agenda' against him following the team's playoff elimination. The Celtics were sent packing after an agonizing Game 7 defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night, having previously led 3-1 earlier in the series.
In the immediate aftermath, Brown took issue with rival star Joel Embiid and suggested that the 76ers star had been 'flopping' throughout their playoff battle. He doubled down on those claims just one day after the defeat during a Twitch live stream, where he also took aim at officials over a supposed 'agenda' against him.
Speaking on Sunday night, Brown said: 'They clearly had an agenda. Maybe [it's] because I spoke so critically of them during the regular season.' He continued: 'I actually spoke to some refs and they told me there's an agenda going on each game. Every time Jaylen puts his hands up just call it.'
'If I had to say, there's some referees that need to be investigated. We had three of them in the last three games,' Brown added.
During his heated rant on Sunday, Brown also doubled down on his claims against 76ers star Embiid. He insisted that the 'This is my personal opinion on basketball, some of y'all might disagree. But, flopping has ruined our game. Joel Embiid is a great player - but he flops. He knows it.'
Later in the live stream, the Celtics star dissected clips from their Game 7 defeat from Saturday night, pointing to instances where he felt he was unfairly officiated.
Fans on social media were split over Brown's claims, with some agreeing that officials were stricter on him, while others mocked him over the suggestion. One fan on X wrote: 'I never expected him to be this sore of a loser considering the success he's had throughout his career. Feed me those Celtic tears'. 'Maybe bro should learn some scoring moves other than stiff arms instead of complaining about refs,' another said on social media.
Philadelphia star Embiid put in a dominant display to help ensure the team remained in the playoffs, scoring 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists on Saturday night. Immediately after the loss, Brown told reporters that the Celtics didn't have an 'answer' to the 76ers star, before launching the shocking 'flop' allegations. 'Embiid put a lot of pressure on us, on all our bigs and our guards. We didn't really have an answer for him,' Brown told reporters. 'We tried a bunch of different things. He's a big body. He also was flopping around. He got some extra calls and they rewarded him for that, but that's the league we're in.'
