Jaylen Brown’s Officiating Complaints Get Pushback From Stephen A. Smith: “Did You Say Anything When Up 3-1?

Jaylen Brown and his Boston Celtics lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games in the first-round of the 2026 playoffs.

Jaylen Brown’s Officiating Complaints Get Pushback From Stephen A. Smith: “Did You Say Anything When Up 3-1?

Jaylen Brown and Stephen A. Smith (Image via FirstSportz)

In Short
  • Jaylen Brown criticized officiating after the Celtics' playoff loss to the 76ers, claiming bias against him.
  • Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins pushed back, arguing the Celtics' reliance on three-pointers contributed to their defeat.
  • Former player Charlie Villanueva questioned Brown's complaints about officiating, noting he didn't speak up when the Celtics were leading the series.

After losing the first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, Jaylen Brown took to his live stream to call out the alleged ‘agenda’ officials had against him.

He believes that it all stemmed from when he started calling them out during the regular season. Despite the league slapping him with fines, the California Golden Bear continued his rant toward the referees.

Brown stated on his stream that the officials were calling push-offs and flops when it was the Sixers’ turn. But when it came to him, they would not allow that leeway.

You’re getting paid over $300 million. You were an MVP candidate. You were up 3-1 in this series. Did you say anything when you were up 3-1?… No, you didn’t… That is not why the Boston Celtics lost. They lost because they live and die with the 3, and they play dumb basketball down the stretch.

Stephen A. Smith said on First Take

The longtime analyst asked why Jaylen Brown did not speak up about the officiating when Joel Embiid returned in Game 4, flopped as the Celtics star was accusing him, but still lost.

Instead, Stephen A. Smith believes that the most successful team in the league’s over-dependence on three-pointers has finally caught up with them.

That tactic may have helped them win the 2024 championship. But Smith pointed out that when they miss shots, it becomes a lot harder. That is where the Celtics lost the series to the 76ers.

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Kendrick Perkins adds to Stephen A. Smith’s rhetoric against Jaylen Brown

Stephen A. Smith was not the first to call out the Boston Celtics’ obsession with the three-point shot. In fact, quite a few former players have been advocating for the league to step in, as fans were finding it boring.

Jaylen Brown shooting a 3-pointer
Jaylen Brown shooting a 3-pointer (Image via Taylor Snow/X)

Other teams that were initially trying to copy the Celtics have eventually changed their ways, but not the Boston-based team. That is what led former Celtics center Kendrick Perkins to admonish Jaylen Brown.

The agenda was that y’all couldn’t make shots. The agenda was y’all refused to switch up y’all’s style of play of shooting threes after threes when at times y’all could have drove the damn basketball… Y’all died by the three, y’all was up 3-1 in this series.

Kendrick Perkins said on The Road Trippin’ Show

As someone who was part of the franchise’s 2008 championship win as a player, the ESPN analyst pointed out that the current roster lacks the aggressiveness to ensure opponents do not win games at TD Garden.

Perkins made it clear that Jaylen Brown and his teammates, along with the coaches, are at fault for not having varied offensive schemes. Sticking to one method that has worked in the past is a recipe for disaster.

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Former player also goes in on Jaylen Brown’s biased criticism

The two ESPN analysts were not the only ones to go in on Jaylen Brown’s criticism about the supposed lopsided officiating. Former player Charlie Villanueva also asked the 2024 Finals MVP why he did not complain when they were leading.

I would say this was he talking like this when they were up 3-1? He didn’t say anything right? When it went 3-2, was he talking about Joel flopping? Probably not. Went 3-3, was he talking about Joel flopping? Probably not. Now y’all get cracked. Now you want to talk about his flopping.

Charlie Villanueva said on To The Baha

The 11-year veteran echoed Stephen A. Smith’s opinion on Joel Embiid’s tendency to flop a lot more than usual. However, he wondered if Brown would have complained about it had they won this series.

Their battle was lost because the 76ers’ star brought an added dimension to their scoring. The Celtics could not take care of it, nor could they get their offense going.

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