Jaylen Brown meant to show Scottie Barnes some love, but the way he phrased it had NBA fans doing double takes.
While breaking down Boston’s 121–113 win over Toronto on his stream Monday night, Brown praised how tough Barnes is to deal with physically.
“Scottie Barnes is strong… he got that extra chromosome strength,” Brown said.
That line didn’t land the way he thought it would.
@FearedReaves immediately chimed in, “ngga called him retrded in the politest way.”
ngga called him retrded in the politest way 😭😭
— 𓃵🌟🎄 (@FearedReaves) December 9, 2025
@Justin2k_ questioned Brown’s rep as a cerebral star, adding, “this is the guy who people call the ‘smartest basketball player ever’ because he gets invited to colleges for publicity.”
And @CommanderSZN figured Brown’s streaming setup might need to be retired: “Take bruddy’s podcast equipment away rn.”
Despite the awkward phrasing, Barnes really did make things difficult for Boston. He posted 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists in the loss, and he’ll get another crack at the Celtics when Toronto hosts them on December 20.
“Cooked SGA and Adam”: NBA fans react as Jaylen Brown jumps into MVP talk
The “extra chromosome” line drew heat, but Brown also sparked a different kind of conversation when he shared his thoughts on what it takes to be an MVP in today’s NBA.
During the same stream, he said:
“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.”
“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.“
– Jaylen Brown pic.twitter.com/Cc6foIuiBZ
— Riley ❄️ (@rileysbetter) December 9, 2025
That comment had fans thinking he was firing off shots at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — last season’s regular-season and Finals MVP — who has been criticized for drawing whistles with head snaps and contact selling.
@Zymotikz felt Brown hit more than one target, saying, “Cooked SGA and Adam’s pathetically ran league.”
@buy_DWP agreed with the sentiment: “He ain’t even lying lmao, Shai and Luka are elite but throwing back their head like they got shot gives them like an extra 4 pts a game easily.”
And @KurbyDontMiss summed up Brown’s mood: “bro lettin his thoughts fly.”
Even with all the noise, Brown is very much in the MVP picture himself. He’s sitting sixth in the current ladder, averaging 29.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.1 steals through 23 games.
Luka Doncic leads the field with 35.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.1 assists in 17 outings, while SGA follows at 32.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.4 assists across 23 appearances.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
