Celtics forward just said quiet part out loud about some NBA mistakes

If there’s one thing about NBA players, it’s that they love to complain about calls during games. Like, if you ask them, they’ve never committed a foul, but they get fouled every time they touch the ball.

Their new favorite thing is twirling their fingers in the air, imploring their head coach to challenge the call on the floor.

Boston Celtics forward Josh Minott gave an all-time response when The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn asked him to explain the mindset of asking Joe Mazzulla to call for a challenge. He began sharing his thought process, but then Minott’s answer shifted focus towards the lack of love he gets from officials as a role player in the NBA.

Josh Minott just went on hilarious rant about missed calls

“I could list them all,” Minott said of his memory bank of missed calls at Thursday’s shootaround via CLNS Media. “There’s a lot. Like, I could make you a mixtape of all the times [they’ve made the wrong call].”

Minott wanted it to be known that he wasn’t just complaining about nothing. He brought proof with him.

“There was one, look it up, the second time we played Philly. It was in Philly, I went up for a dunk attempt -- matter of fact, I’ve got it,” he continued, pulling out his phone to show the group the exact play.

“Y’all gotta understand the stuff I gotta fight through, being a not a name-brand player in this league… “I got no animosity or anything like that. I understand, you know? Just like me, I’m going to make mistakes. They’re all doing their best. I’ve got no bad blood.”

He joked that he’s not like other NBA players, who will hound an official when they think they’ve been wronged by a whistle. Instead, he just kindly asks them to revisit a possible miss when they’ve got extra time.

“I softly spoke to them, too. I was just like ‘I’d like you to just -- obviously we can’t go back in time -- I’d just like you to look at that in your free time.’”

The numbers say the Celtics get the worst whistle in the NBA

As funny as the unexpected Minott-led film session was, the Celtics have a legitimate reason to feel they’re being slighted by the officials. The numbers don’t lie. This season, they average the fewest free-throw attempts per game, while opponents shoot the ninth-most when they play against Boston.

It’s not a direct science, though. This doesn’t mean the Celtics are being targeted by the league or are receiving less-favorable treatment -- at least on defense. Boston’s uptick in physicality has coincided with that around the league.

Just about everyone has adopted the “they can’t call everything” mindset that the Oklahoma City Thunder practiced en route to a championship last season.

Not only this, but the Celtics have been somewhat forced to play extra physical, too. Their lack of depth at the center spot has led Mazzulla to lean into small-ball lineups without a true big man more often.

Smaller defenders simply have to play more aggressively to compete with NBA-level bigs.

Offensively, however, there’s more reason to be upset.

Just last weekend, Mazzulla likened a no-call in Boston’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves to a football-type play, with Donte Divincenzo tackling Derrick White.

“It was 1st and 10, and I thought one of their guys had a great tackle on Derrick there on the sideline for a tackle for loss, and that was really good by them, so our offensive line has to do better.”

Jaylen Brown, in particular, hasn’t held back about the lack of love he gets from the referees. He’s repeatedly called them out during press conferences after he repeatedly gets mauled while driving to the basket.

Don’t get it twisted, he’ll also thank them when they make calls in his favor.

As Brown’s play continues to impress on a nightly basis, it’ll be interesting to see if he gets more of a superstar-level treatment from the referees.