Jaylen Brown rips NBA foul baiting: 'Don't think it's basketball'

The short-handed Boston Celtics lost a close game Thursday night against the Thunder after a late foul call gave Oklahoma City two free throws to win.

If there’s one division among NBA players these days, it’s about foul baiting.

The tactic, which essentially is when players seek unnecessary contact or exaggerate existing contact with flops, can be an effective tool to draw whistles and get to the free throw line.

And on the night when the Boston Celtics lost a close game to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, Celtics star Jaylen Brown called out players who foul baited and expressed frustration over the way officials reward that behavior.

“I just don’t foul bait,” Brown told reporters after Boston’s 104-102 loss. “I’m not looking to flop or anything like that, but it’s almost like you got to. Cause there’s a couple of plays in the fourth quarter where I felt like I drove strong, went up strong, and I didn’t get the benefit of the doubt. But maybe if I would have flopped, maybe I would have been able to sell those calls. And those decide games.

“So it’s like, we commend players for playing the game the right way, but we give the benefit to those who necessarily are trying to manipulate the game into their advantage. I just don’t think it's basketball. Let’s just play basketball. All the foul baiting, I think it’s whatever for me.”