Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown. Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Celtics star Jaylen Brown went off on NBA referees

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Jan 11, 2026 12:32 PM ET

Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown blasted the performance of the officials in Sunday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs and outright questioned whether there was a conspiracy against him and his team.

The Celtics shot just four free throws during a 100-95 loss to the Spurs at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on Saturday, with two of them coming in the final minute of action. After the game, Brown singled out crew chief Curtis Blair and accused the officials of blatant inconsistency, via Celtics on CLNS.

“I feel like, honestly, they just got away with a lot, and I’m tired of the inconsistency,” Brown told reporters. “I’ll accept the fine at this point. I thought it was some [BS] tonight. I think 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 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. That’s just extremely frustrating, bro.

“We play hard. We’re outplaying our expectations, we compete hard on the defensive end, and they reward the other team with touch fouls. Just somebody please pull it up. Every time we play a good team the inconsistency is crazy. I’ll take the [expletive] fine. Curtis, all of them dudes was terrible tonight.”

Brown had no regrets after the game, as he carried his thoughts over to X.

“Fine me I’m sick of this s---,” he wrote.

Brown is attempting a career-high 7.2 free throws per game this season. That is to be expected, as he is the focal point of opposing defenses with Jayson Tatum out. He seems to believe that he gets particularly disrespected against good teams.

Brown can take solace in the fact that he is hardly alone in his frustration with officiating lately. As he predicted, he almost certainly has a significant fine coming his way, but in his mind, it is worth it to get the chance to make his point. Plus, he was already frustrated, as he seems to think that the league has it in for him, or at least has recently.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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