Celtics’ Brown criticizes ‘foul baiting,’ claims NBA incentivizes flopping

OKLAHOMA CITY — A few nights after being ejected for passionately disputing a no-call, Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown expressed his concerns regarding what he views as a growing trend in the NBA where players are rewarded for “foul baiting.”

Brown raised this topic following Thursday’s 104-102 defeat against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he scored 34 points and made 14 free throw attempts, marking his third-highest total of the season.

This was the first occasion Brown addressed the media since his ejection in the second quarter of the Celtics’ loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. He received two technical fouls after arguing that a foul should have been called when Stephon Castle pushed him out of bounds while he was dribbling.

“I don’t know, maybe it all works out in the end, but I just don’t foul bait,” Brown stated. “I’m not trying to flop or anything like that, but it feels like you have to. There were a few plays in the fourth quarter where I felt I drove hard, went up strong, and didn’t receive the benefit of the doubt. But perhaps if I had flopped, I might have been able to sell that call. And those calls can determine the outcome of games.

“So it’s like, we praise players for playing the game correctly, yet we reward those who are trying to manipulate the game to their advantage. I just don’t believe that’s basketball. Let’s just play basketball. All the foul baiting, I think it’s whatever for me.”

While Brown did not specifically mention Gilgeous-Alexander when discussing foul baiting, it is a common topic regarding the reigning MVP’s style of play. Opposing fans have chanted “free throw merchant” during Gilgeous-Alexander’s free throw attempts on several occasions over the past few years.

Gilgeous-Alexander is currently third in the league for free throw attempts, averaging 9.2 per game, behind only Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Brown is ranked 15th with an average of 7.1 free throw attempts per game.

However, Brown had six more free throw attempts in Thursday’s matchup compared to Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 35 points while extending his streak of 20-point games to 127, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain’s record. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 14 points in the fourth quarter without attempting a free throw, during which Brown had seven of his 14 free throw attempts.

When asked to define foul baiting, Brown explained: “Just accentuating contact. It’s one thing to get fouled, but it’s another when you’re not even attempting to score while driving and flailing your body into [a defender] just to create the illusion of being fouled. I think that’s where it’s like, come on. But I mean, that’s where our league is at. That’s where the NBA is at. So it’s like, adapt or fall behind. So maybe I need to flop a bit more.”

Brown expressed his frustration about not being able to play the entire game against the Spurs, noting it was a matchup he had anticipated due to the quality of the opponent.

“I felt like I was prepared for a significant performance, and my night was cut short,” Brown remarked. “In certain situations, perhaps I could have performed a bit better, but you’re passionate. It’s a big game. You want to see emotion. You want to see your star players displaying that emotion. I don’t believe I deserved to be ejected. And I think the NBA concurred, as I wasn’t fined or anything like that. So it is what it is. Mistakes happen, but I’m just focused on moving forward.”