Moses Brown (basketball)
![]() Brown (in blue) with UCLA in 2019 | |
No. 9 – Dallas Mavericks | |
---|---|
Position | Center |
League | NBA |
Personal information | |
Born | New York City, New York | October 13, 1999
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) |
Listed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Archbishop Molloy (New York City, New York) |
College | UCLA (2018–2019) |
NBA draft | 2019 / Undrafted |
Playing career | 2019–present |
Career history | |
2019–2020 | Portland Trail Blazers |
2019–2020 | →Texas Legends |
2020–2021 | Oklahoma City Thunder |
2021 | →Oklahoma City Blue |
2021–present | Dallas Mavericks |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats ![]() | |
Stats ![]() | |
Moses Shirief-Lamar Brown (born October 13, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. The 7-foot-2-inch (2.18 m) center was named a McDonald's All-American as a high school senior in 2018. In his only year with UCLA, Brown was voted to the all-freshman team in the Pac-12 Conference. After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Brown spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Portland Trail Blazers. He joined the Oklahoma City Thunder on a two-way deal for 2020–21 before signing a multi-year, standard NBA contract midseason.
Early life and high school career[]
Brown was born in New York City to Malcolm Brown and Wanda Williams.[1] His father Malcolm was a 6-foot-7-inch (2.01 m) center in junior college.[2] Brown attended Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, arriving with limited fanfare as a 6-foot-8-inch (2.03 m) freshman. He was promoted to varsity in his second year, and flourished after growing 6 inches (15 cm) and 100 pounds (45 kg). In his junior year, he led Molloy to the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) finals, where the Stanners lost 64–62 in an upset by Cardinal Hayes.[3]
As a senior, Brown and junior guard Cole Anthony, son of former National Basketball Association (NBA) first-round draft pick Greg Anthony, formed one of the top duos in all of high school basketball, as well as in Molloy's history.[4][5] They led the school to the CHSAA's semifinals.[6] Brown was voted the league's most valuable player (MVP).[7] He was named a McDonald's All-American, becoming the school's first player to garner the honor since Kenny Anderson in 1989.[8] Brown earned MVP honors in the Ballislife All-American Game.[9]
College career[]
Brown chose to play for UCLA over Kentucky, Maryland and Florida State.[10] Rated a five-star prospect, he was the top newcomer in the Bruins recruiting class for 2018–19 that ranked in the top-10 nationally and also included Shareef O'Neal, son of Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal.[11][12] Brown provided the Bruins with a replacement at center for the graduated Thomas Welsh. Although he stood 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m), there was concern that Brown was underweight at 235 pounds (107 kg).[11] UCLA coach Steve Alford believed that he might still be growing and had "his best basketball ahead of him."[13]
Brown was inconsistent as a freshman, dominating some games while being a nonfactor in others.[14] In the season opener, he scored 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting, including five slam dunks, and had 17 rebounds in a 96–71 win over Purdue Fort Wayne.[15] He was the first UCLA player to have 19 points and 17 rebounds in his college debut since Lew Alcindor, known later as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.[a] On November 16, 2018, Brown had 23 points and 14 rebounds in a 95–58 win over Saint Francis to become the first UCLA freshman to record a double-double in his first three games. He nearly had a triple-double with eight blocks in 29 minutes, having left the game for good with around six minutes remaining.[16][17] After facing smaller post players from small-program schools, Brown struggled offensively against Nick Ward of No. 11 Michigan State with only five points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in an 87–67 loss to the Spartans in the Las Vegas Invitational.[18] In the consolation game, UCLA dropped its second straight contest to a top-15 team, losing to No. 7 North Carolina as Brown played just eight minutes before fouling out.[19] On December 2, he had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in an 82–58 win over Loyola Marymount. It was his first double-double since the third game of the season, and it came in his first matchup against a fellow 7-footer, the Lions' 7-foot-3-inch (2.21 m) Mattias Markusson.[20][21] On January 26, 2019, Brown snapped out of a two-week slump with 11 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks to help the Bruins end a three-game losing streak in a 90–69 win over Arizona.[22] He missed the regular season finale against Utah due to an unspecified violation of the school's student-athlete code of conduct.[14]
Brown finished the season averaging 9.7 points and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds, and ranked fourth in the Pac-12 Conference with 1.9 blocks per game.[23] He was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and was an honorable mention for the conference's all-defensive team.[24] After the season, he declared for the NBA draft.[25]
Professional career[]
Portland Trail Blazers (2019–2020)[]
Brown went undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft.[26] He joined the Houston Rockets for the 2019 NBA Summer League,[27] playing briefly in one game.[28]
In September 2019, Brown signed a training camp contract with the Portland Trail Blazers.[29] He played in all five preseason games, averaging 5.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 6.9 minutes. Afterwards, the Trail Blazers converted his deal into a two-way contract.[30] On October 27, they assigned him to the Texas Legends of the NBA G League.[31] He was transferred back to Portland on November 9 amid multiple injuries to their frontcourt, including centers Pau Gasol and Jusuf Nurkić.[32] Brown was sent to the G League on January 26, 2020.[33] On February 29, Brown posted a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds for Texas in a win over the Northern Arizona Suns.[34][35] He appeared in nine total games for Portland, while playing in 30 for Texas and averaging 14.4 points on a team-high 64.1 field goal percentage in 19.4 minutes with team-highs of 7.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.[36]
Oklahoma City Thunder (2020–2021)[]
On December 9, 2020, Brown signed a two-way contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder.[36] He played in the G League with the Oklahoma City Blue. For the week ending February 23, 2021, he was voted the G League Player of the Week after leading the Blue to a 5–0 record while averaging 19.8 points, 15.0 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.[37] He was named to the All-NBA G League First Team after season averages of 18.5 points, 13.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 26.4 minutes per game.[37][38] He was also placed on the NBA G League All-Defensive Team.[37]
On March 14, Brown made his first career start for the Thunder, replacing a resting Al Horford in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies.[39] In his second consecutive start on March 16 against the Chicago Bulls, he had 20 points and 16 rebounds for his first career double-double, which he already notched by halftime with 14 points and 10 rebounds. It was his fourth straight game setting a career high in points, which set a Thunder team record. He also had five blocks to become just the second player in team history to record 20+ points, 15+ rebounds and 5+ blocks in a game.[40][41] On March 27, Oklahoma City announced that Horford would sit out the rest of the season as the team prioritized developing its younger players.[42] That evening, Brown had career-highs of 21 points and 23 rebounds in a loss to the Boston Celtics. The rebounds tied a team record set by Steven Adams in 2018, and his 19 rebounds by halftime set a team record for rebounds in a half. Brown had the second-fastest double-double in Thunder history (8 minutes, 11 seconds).[43][44] The following day, the Thunder announced that they had signed Brown to a multi-year, standard NBA contract.[43][45] He had been averaging 12.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 27.7 minutes per game since returning from the G League.[46] In the season finale against the Los Angeles Clippers, he had career-highs of 24 points and seven blocks, while also adding 18 rebounds.[47] He ended the season with averages of 8.6 points and 8.9 rebounds.[48]
Dallas Mavericks (2021–present)[]
On June 18, 2021, Brown was traded to the Boston Celtics along with Al Horford and a 2025 second round pick in exchange for Kemba Walker, the 16th pick of the 2021 NBA Draft, and a 2025 second-rounder.[49] On July 31, 2021, Brown was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Josh Richardson.[50]
Career statistics[]
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 |
NBA[]
Regular season[]
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019–20 | Portland | 9 | 0 | 3.7 | .400 | — | .375 | 1.6 | .1 | .1 | .1 | 1.2 |
2020–21 | Oklahoma City | 43 | 32 | 21.4 | .545 | — | .619 | 8.9 | .2 | .7 | 1.1 | 8.6 |
Career | 52 | 32 | 18.3 | .540 | — | .604 | 7.6 | .2 | .6 | .9 | 7.3 |
College[]
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018–19 | UCLA | 32 | 31 | 23.4 | .607 | — | .352 | 8.3 | .3 | .6 | 1.9 | 9.7 |
Notes[]
References[]
- ^ "Moses Brown". UCLABruins.com. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
- ^ a b Bolch, Ben (November 21, 2018). "More than 50 years later, UCLA's Moses Brown stirs up memories of another dominant big man from New York". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ Barca, Christopher (February 8, 2018). "Moses Brown named to All-American squad". Queens Chronicle.
- ^ Engel, Matt (January 26, 2018). "Moses Brown, Cole Anthony give Archbishop Molloy highest expectations". Daily News. New York.
- ^ "Cole Anthony & Moses Brown Are The Best Duo in HS Basketball". Slam. December 14, 2017.
- ^ Thomson, Josh (March 8, 2018). "Boys basketball: R.J. Davis, Alan Griffin team for 64 points as Stepinac earns redemption". The Journal News.
- ^ Barca, Christopher (March 8, 2018). "Moses Brown takes home league MVP". Queens Chronicle.
- ^ Braziller, Zach (January 20, 2018). "Division I recruit blazes trail for New York City talent". The New York Post.
- ^ "McClung wins slam dunk contest and scores 20 in all-star game". Bristol Herald Courier. May 6, 2018.
- ^ Brzezinski, Alec (January 22, 2018). "McDonald's All-American Moses Brown commits to UCLA". Sporting News.
- ^ a b Caron, Emily (August 13, 2018). "Moses Brown Brings a Different Dimension to a Young and Talented UCLA Team". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ Bolch, Ben (August 6, 2018). "UCLA announces the signing of Shareef O'Neal, Shaquille's son". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Nguyen, Thuc Nhi (April 12, 2018). "UCLA basketball signs Moses Brown, Tyger Campbell, waits for final piece of recruiting class". Los Angeles Daily News.
- ^ a b Bolch, Ben (March 9, 2019). "UCLA's Moses Brown won't play against Utah because of conduct violation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
- ^ Hernandez, Dylan (November 7, 2018). "Moses Brown is one big reason to watch UCLA basketball". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- ^ a b Alexander, Jim (November 17, 2018). "Alexander: UCLA freshman Moses Brown is already tough to play against". The Press-Enterprise. Retrieved November 19, 2018 – via OCRegister.com.
- ^ Bolch, Ben (November 16, 2018). "UCLA sizzles in second half to blow out St. Francis 95–58". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ Nguyen, Thuc Nhi (November 22, 2018). "Michigan State crushes UCLA men's basketball in Las Vegas Invitational". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
- ^ Nguyen, Thuc Nhi (November 23, 2018). "UCLA men's basketball fades in second half in loss to North Carolina". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
- ^ Bolch, Ben (December 2, 2018). "UCLA fires on all cylinders, rout Loyola Marymount 82–58". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
- ^ Nguyen, Thuc Nhi (December 2, 2018). "UCLA men's basketball hands Loyola Marymount its first loss". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
- ^ Bolch, Ben (January 26, 2019). "UCLA's Moses Brown comes up big in 90–69 rout over Arizona". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
- ^ Bolch, Ben (April 23, 2019). "Moses Brown is leaving UCLA after one season to enter the NBA draft". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- ^ "Pac-12 announces 2018–19 Men's Basketball annual major awards" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. March 11, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
- ^ Nguyen, Thuc Nhi (April 23, 2019). "Freshman Moses Brown leaves UCLA basketball for NBA draft". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- ^ Nguyen, Thuc Nhi (June 20, 2019). "UCLA's Jaylen Hands headed to Brooklyn Nets after going 56th in NBA draft". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- ^ Laymance, Reid (July 1, 2019). "Rockets set Summer League roster". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
- ^ Kent, Austin (September 9, 2019). "BLAZERS SIGN MOSES BROWN TO TRAINING CAMP DEAL". Slam. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
- ^ "TRAIL BLAZERS SIGN THREE PLAYERS, ANNOUNCE TRAINING CAMP ROSTER". National Basketball Association. September 12, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
- ^ "TRAIL BLAZERS CONVERT MOSES BROWN TO TWO-WAY CONTRACT". National Basketball Association. October 18, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
- ^ "TRAIL BLAZERS TRANSFER MOSES BROWN AND JAYLEN HOARD TO TEXAS LEGENDS". National Basketball Association. October 27, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- ^ Goldberg, Jamie (November 9, 2019). "Moses Brown, Jaylen Hoard transferred to Portland Trail Blazers". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ "Trail Blazers' Moses Brown: Sent to G League". CBS Sports. January 26, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- ^ "Trail Blazers' Moses Brown: Posts another big line Saturday". CBS Sports. March 1, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- ^ "Payne and Brown Post Career Nights in Texas' Win Over Suns" (Press release). Texas Legends. March 1, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
- ^ a b "Thunder Signs Moses Brown and Josh Hall to Two-Way Contracts" (Press release). Oklahoma City Thunder. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ a b c Newman, Logan (March 23, 2021). "Moses Brown named to All-NBA G League First Team, Defensive Team". USA Today. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- ^ Newman, Logan (March 13, 2021). "5 takeaways: Thunder fall to Knicks as Lu Dort takes ball handling duties". USA Today. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
- ^ "Thunder's Moses Brown: Set for first career start". cbssports.com. March 14, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
- ^ Newman, Logan (March 16, 2021). "Thunder center Moses Brown has double-double at halftime vs. Bulls". USA Today. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
- ^ Lawson, Paris (March 16, 2021). "A Tale of Two-Halves in the Windy City". OKCThunder.com. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
- ^ Mussatto, Joe (March 27, 2021). "Thunder's Al Horford to sit out rest of season". Oklahoman. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ a b Mussatto, Joe (March 27, 2021). "Brown makes Thunder history in loss to Celtics". Oklahoman. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- ^ Newman, Logan (March 28, 2021). "Moses Brown matches Dwight Howard, Steven Adams in performance vs. Celtics". USA Today. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- ^ "Thunder Signs Moses Brown to Multi-Year Contract". National Basketball Association. March 28, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
- ^ Newman, Logan (March 29, 2021). "Moses Brown signs multi-year contract with Thunder". USA Today. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- ^ Burkhardt, Curtis (May 17, 2021). "Moses Brown has career night for OKC to help Blazers avoid the Clippers". NBCSports.com. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
- ^ Brunt, Cliff (May 17, 2021). "Strange losing season finally over for Oklahoma City". Associates Press. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
- ^ "Celtics Acquire Five-Time All-Star Al Horford in Deal with Thunder". National Basketball Association. June 18, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
- ^ "Celtics Acquire Josh Richardson from Mavericks". National Basketball Association. July 31, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
External links[]
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com
and Basketball-Reference.com
- UCLA Bruins bio
- USA Basketball bio
- 1999 births
- Living people
- American men's basketball players
- Archbishop Molloy High School alumni
- Basketball players from New York City
- Centers (basketball)
- Dallas Mavericks players
- McDonald's High School All-Americans
- Oklahoma City Blue players
- Oklahoma City Thunder players
- Portland Trail Blazers players
- Sportspeople from Queens, New York
- Texas Legends players
- UCLA Bruins men's basketball players
- Undrafted National Basketball Association players