Jaylen Brown slams modern NBA MVPs for ‘flopping’ their way to big scoring numbers

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Jaylen Brown hasn’t held back when it comes to how recent NBA MVPs are putting up their numbers.

Basketball has changed a lot in the past few decades, shifting towards a more offense-focused game where big names are lighting up the scoreboard every night.

But there’s also been a change in how those points are being tallied, especially among recent MVPs.

Players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander get a significant chunk of their points from free throws. That approach doesn’t sit well with Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown.

Jaylen Brown thinks flopping is rewarded in today’s game

Many former players have raised concerns about the direction of the game, pointing out that current stars are often focused on drawing fouls rather than finding ways to score.

The topic comes up often, and Jaylen Brown has made it clear where he stands, throwing his support behind the older generation’s perspective.

“If you wanna be a great player, you gotta sell your soul. 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,” Brown said on his livestream.

Those are strong words from the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, and they raise questions about what league commissioner Adam Silver is promoting in today’s game.

Brown isn’t alone in his views. A lot of fans share similar frustrations with how frequently some of the league’s biggest names seem to chase fouls instead of relying on their skills.

Jaylen Brown says he could train to get foul calls

Brown’s currently posting 29.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game for the Celtics this season, stepping up as a leader while Jayson Tatum is out.

Even with those numbers, he’s not really in the conversation for MVP right now, and there are no real headlines about him being one of the favorites to win it this year.

“Y’all tell me, what y’all want me to do? Y’all want me to be on that? I could do it. I can start going to practice and working on throwing my head,” Brown said.

It’s just another piece of the broader issue: too many players looking for foul calls has already changed how people view the game. And with NBA ratings continuing their downward trend, it hasn’t helped at all.