Jaylen Brown expressed frustration over officiating and Joel Embiid's flopping after the Celtics' playoff loss. Draymond Green commented that while he agrees with Brown, calling out Embiid post-loss may seem like excuse-making.
Credits: Imagn ©Credits: Imagn
Just a day after losing the first round series, Boston Celtics Jaylen Brown aired his frustration on his Twitch channel. It included a thorough review of Game 7 as he called out the referees for their officiating and even said 76ers Joel Embiid was flopping. Since then, fans and analysts like Stephen A. Smith have chimed in, and now 4x NBA champion Draymond Green is picking sides.
On Sunday, Brown accused his Sixers rival and stated he had âruined our game.â âJoel Embiid is a great player. One of the best bigs in basketball history. [But he] flops. He know it,â Brown said. âThis ainât breaking news. It is what it is.â The Celtics suffered an epic collapse in the 2026 NBA playoffs, squandering a 3-1 series lead and losing at home to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of their first-round series. Now, Green stated that the callout from Brown was âinterestingâ because he agreed that Embiid would embellish some calls a bit.
âHowever, as you all know, not a huge fan of calling the guy out once you lost,âhe admitted on the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show. âI just donât love that because it comes off as excuse-making. A lot of people are trying to say, âOh man, Jaylen Brown making an excuse.â When you, in fact, could be telling the dead honest truth, but because you lost, people are always going to say thereâs the excuse. It ultimately doesnât hold weight. And I feel like you end up wasting one of your bullets because it doesnât hold weight anyway because you lost. â
Itâs true that Draymond Green doesnât like NBA stars providing excuses once they lose. He gave this advice last year to Rocketsâ . The Turkish center said that the were âcrying all series about foulsâ and used their veteran status to manipulate the officiating. Draymond Green responded to âHold that Lâ in a Threads post. The 4x NBA champion further argued that âyou have to winâ to make such comments, asserting that they are âtough thing[s] to say after you lose.â Similar sentiment and advice that he recently gave to Jaylen Brown. And just as Green predicted, the Celtics star received a lot of flak for his statement against Embiid, starting from ESPNâs Stephen A. Smith.
Jaylen Brown accused Joel Embiid of flopping and stated that he has 'ruined our game' during a Twitch rant after the Celtics' playoff loss.
Draymond Green found Brown's comments interesting but cautioned that calling out an opponent after a loss can come off as excuse-making.
The Boston Celtics lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7, after squandering a 3-1 series lead in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs.
People perceive Brown's comments as excuse-making because they came after a loss, leading to skepticism about the validity of his frustrations.
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May 2, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) drives on Boston Celtics guard Hugo Gonzalez (28) during the second quarter of game seven of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
âBro, you get paid over $300 million. You were an MVP candidate,â said Smith on First Take. âThe point is, when something like that happens, you cannot have that residue of that experience youâre griping about, Joel Embiid flopping. That is not why the Boston Celtics lost.â The veteran broadcaster explained how the Celtics lost because they live and die by the 3. With just over two minutes left in the game, they cut the Sixersâ lead to 99-98. Overall, Boston missed 11 of its last 12 shots and was a horrible 13-49 from 3-point range in Game 7. This was the real reason for their loss.
Joel Embiid finished the night with a dominant 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists, anchoring a Philadelphia offense that also saw 30 points from Tyrese Maxey. Brownâs âfloppingâ accusations are valid. Embiid has long faced criticism for his ability to draw fouls, a skill he views as high-level basketball IQ, to the disdain of his opponents. In this decisive Game 7, the 76ers utilized that physicality to survive. But the Celtics star didnât view that and even called out the officials.
JB finished Game 7 with a team-high 33 points. But he had missed four consecutive shots in the last five minutes. Instead of critiquing his own game, He wasted no time in taking a dig at the officiating crew. Jaylen Brown spoke out against an âagendaâ being built against him.
âWhy are you targeting me? Brown shared. âThey clearly had an agenda, maybe because I spoke so critically of them in the regular season. So, you know how they responded. Youâre going to lead the playoffs in offensive fouls⊠and I actually spoke to some refs, and they said there was an agenda going into each game. Like anytime Jaylen brings his arm up, just from reputation, call it.â The Celtics star even showed and analyzed a play from Game 7 where Paul George performed the same maneuver and hit a triple.
âDo you know how many players do that? Thatâs the common play, a basketball play,â Brown said about the push off. Itâs not the first time that Brown has made a statement against the referees. The NBA fined him $35,000 in January 2026 for public criticism of officiating. It seems more fines are coming his way, as the league is open to investigation.
The post âThereâs the Excuseâ: Draymond Green Takes Sides in Jaylen BrownâJoel Embiid Debate After Celtics Starâs Twitch Rant appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.