Devin Brown

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Devin Brown bigraphy, stories - American professional basketball player

Devin Brown : biography

December 30, 1978 –

Devin LaVell Brown (born December 30, 1978) is an American professional basketball shooting guard who last played for the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League.

College career

Brown 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.

Honors, rankings and milestones

2002 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.

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.

Professional career

Early years

Brown 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. He was also drafted 2nd overall by Fayetteville Patriots in 2002 National Basketball Development League Draft.

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.

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.

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. 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. He averaged 16.9 points on 50% shooting, 4.1 rebounds and two assists in 24.7 minutes.

Denver Nuggets (2002–2003)

Brown earned a ten-day contract with the Denver Nuggets in April 2003, appearing in three games with two starts.

San Antonio Spurs (2003–2005)

After 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. On December 9, 2004, Brown committed a turnover in the final seconds of a game against the Houston Rockets; Tracy McGrady stole the ball and hit the winning three-point shot, and the Rockets won 81-80 after trailing 74-64 in the final minute. 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.

Utah Jazz (2005–2006)

On 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. 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.