Brown accuses NBA refs of targeting him in playoff loss

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown accused NBA officials of pursuing an agenda against him during the first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, which the Celtics lost in Game 7. Philadelphia defeated Boston 109-100 on May 2, 2026, at TD Garden to advance. Brown leveled the charges in a postgame livestream.

Brown claimed referees called him for offensive fouls on push-offs more than others, despite the move being common across the league. He said he led the playoffs in such calls, possibly in retaliation for his regular-season criticism of officials. Brown added that he spoke with some referees who acknowledged an agenda, instructing them to call fouls on him based on reputation whenever he raised his arm.

Brown compared his treatment to that of Philadelphia's Paul George and New York's Jalen Brunson, calling the action a standard basketball play under contact. He also criticized 76ers center Joel Embiid for flopping to draw extra calls in Game 7, where Embiid scored 34 points with 12 rebounds and six assists on 9-of-11 free throws. Brown averaged 25.7 points on 45.5% shooting in the series.

The Celtics finished the regular season 56-26 and second in the Eastern Conference, with Brown as their leading performer in 71 games at 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game while Jayson Tatum missed most of the season.