Jaylen Brown got what he asked for.
The NBA fined Brown $35,000 on Monday over comments he made both in person and on social media about the officiatingfollowing the Boston Celtics' loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
Brown went off after the Celtics fell 100-95 to the Spurs at TD Garden on Saturday. He dropped 27 points and added 8 rebounds and 7 assists. But Brown did not shoot a single free throw in the contest. The Celtics had only four free throw attempts as a team in the game, compared to the 20 the Spurs received.
"I'll accept the fine at this point. I thought it was some bulls*** tonight," Brown said. "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, and that's just extremely frustrating, bro.
"We play hard. We are outplaying our expectations, we compete hard on the defensive end and they reward the other team with touch fouls and we go down there and guys are allowed to get away with — somebody please pull it up. Every time we play a good team the inconsistency is crazy. I'll take the f***ing fine. Curtis, all them dudes, was terrible tonight. I don't care, they can fine me whatever they want."
While free throw attempts aren't a direct representation of a well-officiated game, the Celtics entered Saturday night having received 4.4 fewer free throw attempts than their opponents. That's the lowest mark in the league. The Spurs had the second-highest with 4.7 more than their opponents, behind only the Los Angeles Lakers.
Brown's rant on Saturday night came with the acknowledgement that he would be receiving a letter from the league in the coming days. He clearly didn't care what it would cost him. He even posted about it on social media.
Fine me I'm sick of this shit
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO)January 11, 2026
"I'm irate at how they officiated the game today," Brown said. "If we can't get to the free throw line, and teams are allowed to be physical and bump us off our spots, it's hard to win games like that. We shot four free throws tonight and lost the game by four.
"Not to say that's the whole game, the whole story. We've got to be better in spots, I've got to be better in spots, but goddamn. I'm driving to the basket, I'm physical, I don't flop, I don't shy away from contact. I go up strong, I'm athletic, and nothing. I had zero free throws tonight. The inconsistency is f***ing crazy. Give me the fine."
Brown has averaged a career-high 29.5 points this season while adding 6.4 rebounds and 5 assists per game. The 29-year-old, who has picked up All-Star nods in each of the past three seasons, has spent his entire career with the Celtics after they selected him with the No. 3 overall pick out of Cal in 2016. Brown is in the second year of a five-year, $285.4 million deal with the team.
The Celtics will enter Monday night's game with the Indiana Pacers with a 24-14 record. They've won five of their last seven, though Saturday's loss to the Spurs was their second in a three-game stretch. Brown had been considered doubtful for the contest at Gainbridge Fieldhouse due to back spasms.
