Jaylen Brown Frustrated by Offensive Foul Calls: “If His Face Is There or Not, That’s On Him”
Another weekend, another chapter in the ongoing saga between Jaylen Brown and NBA officiating. Over the Celtics’ recent back-to-back matchups against the Miami Heat and New York Knicks, Brown found himself on the wrong end of two offensive foul calls-both coming in situations where he rose up for a shot and caught defenders in the face during his natural shooting motion.
Brown didn’t hold back postgame on Sunday after Boston’s loss to New York.
“Defensive guys are just putting their face [in the way], and I’m allowed to go up into my normal shot motion,” Brown said in the locker room. “Just because their face is in there, they give them the offensive foul.”
It’s a growing trend that’s clearly frustrating the Celtics star-and for good reason. These aren’t reckless elbows or wild swings.
Brown’s going up in rhythm, and defenders are stepping into that space, often drawing contact to the face. The result?
Offensive fouls that not only stall possessions but can swing momentum in a big way.
Take Sunday’s game against the Knicks. After one of the controversial whistles, New York capitalized immediately with a layup to stretch their lead to 12.
Had the call gone Boston’s way, the Celtics would’ve had a bucket and a chance at a three-point play, potentially cutting the deficit to just seven. That’s a five-point swing in a game where Boston was already struggling to generate offense.
These calls aren’t just frustrating-they’re game-changers.
Brown’s frustration isn’t just about one or two plays. It’s about a lack of consistency. He’s not alone in noticing how often players are rewarded for initiating contact on drives, yet when he goes up in a natural motion and a defender gets hit, it’s suddenly an offensive foul.
“It almost cost us the game last game,” Brown said, referring to a similar call late in Friday’s win over the Heat. “We ended up winning, but it should’ve been an and-one.
Tonight, it was the same thing. Hopefully, we find some consistency on it, but Imma just keep playing basketball.”
That Heat game nearly slipped away in the final minute when Brown was called for an offensive foul after appearing to catch Andrew Wiggins during a jump shot. The Celtics challenged the call, but the officials stood by it. Fortunately for Boston, Miami didn’t capitalize on the extra possession, and the Celtics escaped with a 98-96 win.
Still, the pattern is troubling. Brown says the team has submitted clips of these plays to the league for review, hoping to spark a conversation around how these types of fouls are being interpreted.
And while the officiating may be inconsistent, Brown’s play hasn’t been. He’s been one of the Celtics’ most reliable contributors all season, producing at an All-NBA level and helping Boston to a 34-19 record.
He’s attacking the rim with purpose, night in and night out. Some games, that aggression gets rewarded with double-digit free throw attempts.
Other nights, he barely gets to the line at all.
But through it all, Brown’s message remains steady: he’s going to keep playing his game-and keep holding officials accountable when the calls don’t add up.
“A guy shouldn’t be able to put his face in there and get an offensive foul,” he said. “If I go up into my normal shot motion, if his face is there or not, that’s on him.”
It’s a fair point-and one that the league may need to address if these calls continue to impact games at the highest level.