Former Cal standout Jaylen Brown made it clear that he was not pleased with the hit Charlotte’s Grant Williams took on Jayson Tatum in Friday’s NBA game, comparing it to a hit taken by the Hall of Fame linebacker. American football fame, Ray Lewis.

Tatum was dribbling on a fast break when Williams collided with Tatum near midcourt. Williams was ejected from the game for the play.

What made the hit particularly baffling is that Tatum and Williams were teammates with the Celtics for four seasons, from 2019 to 2023, and were friends.

Brown scored 25 points in a 124-109 victory over the Hornets and made his opinion known when asked if he thought Williams’ hit was unintentional.

“Like, what are we talking about? Do you see the same play that I was seeing?” Said Brown: “He hit it like it was a football play. Like Ray Lewis crossed the middle or something. It is what it is. Grant knows better than that.”

Brown said earlier in the interview that that type of game has no place in the NBA.

“I thought JT and Grant were friends…I guess not,” Brown said.

Brown can be seen looking at Williams after the contested play as Brown returns to the Celtics huddle, clearly upset by what Wimmiams did.

williams he told Kayla Burton of NBC Sports Boston that he had no intention of injuring Tatum and said Brown made the play more important.

“I’m not trying to hurt anyone. We all know he’s one of my closest friends in the league,” Williams said. “JB kind of escalated things, but I understand he’s trying to protect his teammate. But that’s (Tatum) my dog. No matter what, I’ve got his back… There’s no malice or any problem with that.”

The Hornets and Celtics play again today (Saturday) in Charlotte, North Carolina, and that game looks to be interesting. But Brown is expected to miss the game with a hip flexor injury.

Brown, a three-time All-Star and Eastern Conference and NBA Finals MVP, is averaging 25.7 points this season for the defending NBA champion Celtics, who are 5-1 this season.

However, Brown struggles with his shot. He was 0 for 6 on three-pointers in Friday’s game and was 1 for 21 from long range in the last three games. For the season, he is shooting 40.0 percent from the field overall and 26.7 percent from beyond the three-point line.

During the 2023-24 regular season, Brown shot 49.9 percent from the floor and 35.4 percent on three-pointers while averaging 25.7 points.

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