NBA
Jaylen Brown calls ESPN “corny” for posting this about him
Mat Issa is based in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Yes, he spells his name with one "t." He's obsessed with NBA history, so much so that he's dedicated nearly two years of research to his two mini-series', "Blazing the Trail" and "The Quest for the Best." Right now, Mat goes to law school and writes about the NBA for The Analyst, Forbes, and of course, Basketball Insiders. His work has also been featured in ESPN, SB Nation, FanSided, Basketball News, ONE37pm, and Raptors Republic. Also, he's a lifelong Spartans fan. Go Green!
All posts by Mat IssaUpdated06 Dec 2023
Ever since his less-than-stellar outing in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown has been the subject of a lot of criticism from national media. And this time, Brown decided he wasn’t having it and that it was time to clap back.
Brown Calls ESPN Out
After the Celtics loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Knockout Round of the NBA In-Season Tournament, ESPN’s NBA Instagram account came at Brown. The post highlighted that, in the last two games, Brown had taken 43 shots and not registered a single assist.
Brown wasted no time calling the account out. About an hour after the post went live, Brown commented: “Y’all corny[,] watch the game.” To this point, the comment has generated 12,453 likes. The post itself has generated over 287,000 likes.
Who Was Right Here?
The implication of the post is that Brown is a chucker who does not look to involve his teammates. Meanwhile, the message of Brown’s comment is that ESPN’s social media team needs to watch the tape to see that numbers don’t always paint the right picture. So, who was right?
In his career, Brown has never averaged more than 3.5 assists per game. However, he has averaged over 20 points per game and 15 shot attempts per game five times in his career. So, it is true that Brown is more inclined to score than pass.
However, according to NBA.com tracking dating, Brown averages 27.5 passes and 6.5 potential assists per game. In the two games where he didn’t record a single assist, he still recorded 25 passes and three potential assists per game. So, he was still passing the ball, even if he didn’t register an assist on the box score.
Per usual, the real truth lies somewhere in the middle. Brown isn’t a good passer. But he’s also not the player ESPN’s Instagram post would lead you to believe. That’s why it is best to heed Brown’s advice and watch the freaking games!
