Jaylen expects to hear from the NBA after the throat-slash-dunk celebration originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Jaylen Brown sparked another celebration after his latest poster dunk Wednesday night. But it can have consequences.
The Celtics star threw down a vicious dunk on Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart during the first quarter of Boston’s 130-120 win over Detroit at TD Garden, then followed it up by making a throat-slash gesture.
Brown has taken advantage of the seatbelt party after a few big dunks this season, so what prompted him to do things differently after posting Stewart?
“I was just in the moment, I guess. Big play,” Brown told reporters after the game, before noting that the league might not take too kindly to his throat slitting. “I think the NBA and the NBPA (Players Association) are sensitive to gestures and things like that, so you have to take that into account.”
When asked if he expects to “hear from the league” after the gesture, Brown responded with a smile.
“Oh yes.”
It wouldn’t be surprising if Brown were fined. For example, former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade was fined $25,000 in 2016 for making a similar gesture during a game against the Celtics.
It appeared Brown may have to deal with some in-game consequences from Stewart, who appeared to nudge the Celtics star later in the game. However, Brown doesn’t think Stewart’s actions were related to his previous dunk on the Pistons big man.
“I feel like he does things like that all the time,” Brown said of Stewart. “I think that’s how he plays the game. But my focus is on coming out, running the offense and getting our team in the right positions, so I did that.” doesn’t want to be distracted.
“But there was definitely back and forth, and we won’t tolerate that from anyone this year.”
Brown didn’t let the back-and-forth with Stewart derail his game. With superstar Jayson Tatum sidelined, Brown took charge with a game-high 28 points on 10 of 21 shooting while adding a season-high nine assists, six rebounds and three steals.
The Celtics are back in action on Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who Brown called “childish” after the first meeting between the teams earlier this season. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM ET on NBC Sports Boston.
