Devin LaVell Brown (born December 30, 1978) is an American former professional basketball shooting guard who played 8 seasons in the National Basketball Association. Brown won an NBA championship as a member of the San Antonio Spurs in 2005.
Early life
editBrown was born in Salt Lake City, Utah,[1] and raised in San Antonio, Texas. He played organized basketball at South San Antonio West Campus High School, a school on the south side of San Antonio, where he became the all-time high school scorer in greater San Antonio.
College career
editBrown played four seasons at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is the all-time leading scorer in school history with 1,922 career points. His collegiate averages were 18.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.75 steals in 32.0 minutes. In addition to that, Brown was the first player in UTSA school history to record a triple double — a 33-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist performance — which he did on February 17, 2001, against the Louisiana–Monroe Indians. Brown was named Southland Conference Freshman of the Year in 1998–99 and named First Team All-Southland Conference three times. His was the first Roadrunner to have his number retired by UTSA.
Professional career
editEarly years
editBrown was not selected in the 2002 NBA draft. He was, however, the 6th overall pick in the CBA Draft by the Sioux Falls Skyforce and the 18th overall pick in the USBL Draft by the Kansas Cagerz.[2] He was also drafted 2nd overall by Fayetteville Patriots in 2002 National Basketball Development League Draft.[3]
Brown began his professional career with the Cagerz in 2002. During his rookie year, he averaged 17.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and won the USBL Rookie of the Year.[4]
The following year Brown received an invite to the San Antonio Spurs' training camp. He was cut before the season started but then re-signed in November 2002 for two weeks during which he played in seven games.[2]
Also in November 2002, Brown was drafted with the second overall pick of the then-named National Basketball Development League draft by the Fayetteville Patriots.[5] He played 44 games for the Patriots and was named the 2003 NBDL Most Valuable Player as well as the 2003 NBDL Rookie of the Year.[6][7] He averaged 16.9 points on 50% shooting, 4.1 rebounds and two assists in 24.7 minutes.
Denver Nuggets (2002–2003)
editBrown earned a ten-day contract with the Denver Nuggets in April 2003, appearing in three games with two starts.
San Antonio Spurs (2003–2005)
editAfter playing for the Spurs 2003 Summer League team, Brown signed with the team for the third time. Brown appeared in 58 games for the Spurs in 2003–04, logging major minutes as the season progressed and played a major role in the playoffs. In game six of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, Brown scored 15 points, 6 rebounds and three assists in a playoff-career-high 28 minutes.
Brown established career highs in all categories in the 2004–05 season while playing for the Spurs. In 67 games played, he averaged 7.4 points and 2.6 rebounds.[8] With Brown, the Spurs won their third NBA Championship in June 2005. In the Finals, Brown saw the most game time in Game 4 with 20 minutes, but the Spurs lost that game to the Detroit Pistons 102–71. Brown scored 8 points on 2 for 8 field goal shooting and 1 for 3 free throw attempts and had three rebounds and two assists.[9]
Utah Jazz (2005–2006)
editOn September 9, 2005, as a restricted free agent, Brown signed a two-year offer sheet with the Utah Jazz. The Spurs had the right to match the offer sheet but did not do so.[10] During the 2005–2006 season, Brown played in 81 games for the Jazz (starting 14) and he averaged 7.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. On February 13, 2006, he scored a career high 25 points in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Golden State Warriors (2006)
editOn July 12, 2006, the Jazz traded Brown, along with Keith McLeod and Andre Owens, to the Golden State Warriors for veteran guard Derek Fisher,[11] but he was waived during training camp.[12]
New Orleans Hornets (2006–2007)
editOn December 22, 2006, he signed with the New Orleans Hornets to help fill in gaps left by injuries to the team's major players.[13] Brown played in 58 games for the Hornets (starting 49 of them), and averaged a career-high 11.6 points per game with and 4.3 rebounds. On April 10, 2007, Brown tied his career high by putting up 25 points against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2007–2008)
editOn September 29, 2007, he signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[14] Brown played in 78 regular season games as a Cavalier (starting 20). He averaged 7.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists, scoring a season-high 20 points against the Sacramento Kings on November 9, and was three assists away from a triple-double against the Washington Wizards on February 22, 2008. On April 2, he tied his season-high against the Charlotte Bobcats. He also had 5 rebounds and 8 assist as a starter in that game. Brown scored double digit points on 19 occasions and rebounds twice.
Return to New Orleans Hornets (2008–2010)
editOn August 22, 2008, he signed a two-year contract with the New Orleans Hornets.
Chicago Bulls (2010)
editOn January 25, 2010, Devin Brown was traded to the Chicago Bulls for Aaron Gray.[15]
Brown's final NBA game was played in Game 4 of the 2010 Eastern Conference First Round on April 25, 2010, in a 98 - 121 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Brown recorded 2 points and 1 rebound in his final game. The Bulls would go on to lose the entire series 4 - 1 (Game 4 was the only game of the series that Brown saw playing time).
Asseco Prokom (2011)
editIn September 2011, Brown signed with Asseco Prokom in Poland.[16] He was released by Asseco Prokom in October 2011.[17]
Honors, rankings and milestones
edit2002 USBL Rookie of the Year
2003 NBDL Rookie of the Year
2003 NBDL Most Valuable Player
On April 14, 2007, Brown scored his 2,000th NBA career point in a game against the Houston Rockets.
On April 27, 2007, Brown had his number 14 retired by the Kansas Cagerz of the USBL.[4]
On March 6, 2008, Brown had his 500th NBA career assist in a game against the New York Knicks. On March 21, he scored his 2,500th NBA career point in a game against the Toronto Raptors, grabbing his 1,000th NBA career rebound against the Philadelphia 76ers nine days later.
NBA career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Won an NBA championship |
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | San Antonio | 7 | 0 | 3.1 | .500 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.0 | .3 | .0 | .0 | 1.7 |
| 2002–03 | Denver | 3 | 2 | 23.7 | .280 | .000 | .667 | 3.7 | 1.7 | 1.3 | .3 | 6.0 |
| 2003–04 | San Antonio | 58 | 0 | 10.8 | .434 | .286 | .811 | 2.2 | .6 | .3 | .1 | 4.0 |
| 2004–05† | San Antonio | 67 | 0 | 18.5 | .423 | .372 | .792 | 2.6 | 1.4 | .6 | .2 | 7.4 |
| 2005–06 | Utah | 81 | 14 | 21.1 | .393 | .331 | .745 | 2.6 | 1.3 | .5 | .2 | 7.5 |
| 2006–07 | NO/Oklahoma City | 58 | 49 | 28.7 | .420 | .357 | .794 | 4.3 | 2.6 | .8 | .2 | 11.6 |
| 2007–08 | Cleveland | 78 | 20 | 22.6 | .409 | .308 | .754 | 3.4 | 2.2 | .7 | .1 | 7.5 |
| 2008–09 | New Orleans | 63 | 5 | 13.8 | .355 | .289 | .780 | 1.9 | .9 | .5 | .1 | 5.2 |
| 2009–10 | New Orleans | 39 | 37 | 24.8 | .394 | .367 | .802 | 2.8 | 1.5 | .8 | .1 | 9.7 |
| 2009–10 | Chicago | 11 | 0 | 8.5 | .222 | .235 | .000 | 1.4 | .6 | .3 | .1 | 1.8 |
| Career | 465 | 127 | 19.4 | .401 | .338 | .776 | 2.8 | 1.5 | .6 | .1 | 7.2 | |
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | San Antonio | 9 | 0 | 14.4 | .486 | .600 | .588 | 2.0 | 1.0 | .3 | .1 | 5.8 |
| 2005† | San Antonio | 12 | 0 | 5.0 | .350 | .429 | .571 | .6 | .3 | .1 | .0 | 1.8 |
| 2008 | Cleveland | 8 | 0 | 11.5 | .265 | .294 | .667 | 2.4 | 1.1 | .2 | .0 | 4.1 |
| 2009 | New Orleans | 3 | 0 | 11.0 | .375 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.7 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.7 |
| 2010 | Chicago | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| Career | 33 | 0 | 9.6 | .380 | .368 | .619 | 1.5 | .6 | .2 | .0 | 3.5 | |
Notes
edit- ^ NBA.com: Devin Brown bio Archived December 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Hoopshype Devin Brown Profile
- ^ NBDL: 2003-03 NBDL Draft Board Archived 2007-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Hornets Swarm into Salina
- ^ 2002-03 NBDL Draft Board Archived 2007-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Wrapping Up The 2003 NBA Summer Leagues Through NBDL Eyes
- ^ Will Bynum Named D-League Rookie of the Year Archived 2014-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "McGrady's 3-flowin' ways a real Rocket boost". Associated Press. December 9, 2004. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
- ^ "Devin Brown Game-by-Game Stats: 2004-2005". ESPN. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
- ^ Jazz sign free agent Brown
- ^ Warriors acquire Brown, McLeod and Owens from Utah
- ^ Warriors waive Brown
- ^ "Hornets sign free agent Brown". NBA.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2007. Retrieved January 6, 2007.
- ^ Cavs make two moves
- ^ "Bulls acquire Devin Brown from New Orleans". NBA.com. January 25, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ Devin Brown Signs With Asseco Prokom
- ^ Asseco Prokom Gdynia released Devin Brown