During his latest Twitch livestream, Jaylen Brown caused somewhat of a stir. The Boston Celtics forward was discussing the path toward an MVP award when he accused some of the league’s most talented offensive players of being “floppers.”
“If you wanna be a great player, you gotta sell your soul,” Brown said. “You gotta be a flopper. If you wanna be an MVP, you wanna be top of the top, you gotta sell your soul and just be a flopper.“
Nikola Jokic has won three of the past five MVP awards. Nobody can accuse the Denver Nuggets star of flopping. However, Joel Embiid, who won the award in 2023 and is the reigning MVP, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have both been accused of exaggerating contact to draw fouls.
Gilgeous-Alexander currently sits second in the NBA for free-throw attempts per game (10.2), one spot behind Luka Doncic. It’s worth noting that Doncic is currently third in MVP voting, behind Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander as of Dec. 5.
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Brown is currently 10th in the MVP race. He’s leading the Celtics with 7.1 trips to the free-throw line per game. And while his comments may be aimed at some of the league’s best offensive talents, it could be that he’s looking to put pressure on game officials. Brown has been vocal about not getting enough foul calls to begin the season.
Nevertheless, the Celtics forward has been piecing together the best season of his career. In 23 games, he’s averaging 29.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting 49.6% from the field and 36.3% from deep.
Boston is back in action on Thursday, Dec. 11, when it faces the Milwaukee Bucks. It will be interesting to see what type of whistle Brown gets in that game, as the Celtics chase their sixth straight win.
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Featured image via Brad Penner/Imagn Images
