Brett Brown
Brown in 2015
San Antonio Spurs
PositionAssistant coach
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1961-02-16) February 16, 1961 (age 62)
South Portland, Maine, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Career information
High schoolSouth Portland
(South Portland, Maine)
CollegeBoston University (1979–1983)
Coaching career1988–present
Career history
As coach:
1988Altos Auckland
1988–1993Melbourne Tigers (assistant)
1993–1998North Melbourne Giants
2000–2002Sydney Kings
2007–2013San Antonio Spurs (assistant)
2013–2020Philadelphia 76ers
2022–presentSan Antonio Spurs (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As head coach:

As assistant coach:

Brett William Brown (born February 16, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Brown is a former college basketball player who previously served as head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers from 2013 to 2020. Before that, Brown was an assistant on Gregg Popovich's staff on the Spurs. He also has extensive experience coaching in Australia, having been the head coach of the North Melbourne Giants and Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL).

Playing career

High school

Born and raised in Maine, Brown first played organized basketball in Rockland, was a star guard in junior high school there, and then his father was hired as the head coach.[1] Brown transferred to South Portland where he became a star basketball player at South Portland High School, from which he graduated in 1979.[2] Brown was a two-year first-team all-state guard in 1978 and 1979, and led his team to a 27–0 record and a State Class A Title in his senior year.[2] Both Brown and his father, Bob Brown, who was South Portland's head coach during Brown's playing career, are inductees to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.[3]

Collegiate career

Brown played four seasons at Boston University under Rick Pitino. He was named the Lou Cohen MVP in his sophomore year and served as the team captain in both his junior and senior seasons. During his senior year in 1983, the Boston Terriers made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1959.[2] By the time he graduated, Brown had compiled the fourth-most assists in school history.[3] After graduation, he served as a graduate assistant under coach John Kuester.[4] Brown also took a sales job with AT&T, saving enough money to take a backpacking trip to Oceania in 1987.[2]

Coaching career

NBL

In 1988, after a coaching stint in New Zealand with Altos Auckland,[5] Brown made a cold call to Melbourne Tigers head coach Lindsay Gaze, ultimately leading to a job offer and Brown making Australia his home for the next 18 years.[2] He served as a Tigers assistant coach until 1993, when he became head coach of the North Melbourne Giants. Brown was named NBL coach of the year in 1994, when he led the Giants to a championship victory over the Adelaide 36ers. He served as head coach of the Giants until 1998, before taking a job with the San Antonio Spurs.[3] Following his stint with the Spurs, Brown coached the Sydney Kings from 2000 to 2002.[3][6] Overall, he was a head coach for 278 NBL games, winning 54 percent of the time.[7]

San Antonio Spurs

Brown as Spurs assistant coach in 2010

After attending a basketball camp run by Brown and Andrew Gaze, San Antonio Spurs general manager R. C. Buford hired Brown as an unpaid member of the Spurs' basketball operations department for the 1998–99 lockout-shortened season.[2] In 2002, after a stint with the Sydney Kings, he again took a position with the Spurs, this time as the team's director of player development.[3] Buford credited him with focusing attention on the team's lesser-known players, creating a consistently strong bench; this philosophy would continue to benefit the Spurs even after Brown left his role as player development director.[8] He was promoted to assistant coach in September 2007, working under coach Gregg Popovich.[9] Popovich calls Brown "one of his best friends," and Brown would later incorporate many of Popovich's concepts into his own offensive system.[10] He played a major role in signing Australian guard Patty Mills, who played under him for the Australian national team.[11] Brown was a member of the Spurs organization for four of their championship-winning seasons.[3]

Philadelphia 76ers

Brett Brown is interviewed at a 76ers fan meet and greet in 2014

During the 2013 NBA off-season, Brown was offered a chance to succeed Mike Budenholzer as the top assistant on Gregg Popovich's staff, but in August 2013, he chose instead to become head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.[12] He inherited a team in "total rebuilding mode" led by new general manager Sam Hinkie,[13] and the Sixers were only able to woo Brown away from the Spurs after offering a 4-year guaranteed contract.[14] His appointment made him the 24th head coach in the history of the franchise,[13] and the second person to be a head coach in both the NBL and the NBA, following Mike Dunlap. The Sixers were the youngest team in the league during Brown's first year, and one of the youngest of all time.[15] During the second half of the 2013–14 season, the Sixers would lose 26 games in a row, tying the record for longest NBA losing streak.[16] Sixers point guard Michael Carter-Williams won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2014, and credited Brown for helping him win the award and grow as a player.[17]

On December 11, 2015, the 76ers signed Brown to a contract extension.[18] On May 31, 2018, the 76ers signed Brown to another contract extension, coming off their first playoff appearance since 2012. On June 7, 2018, Brown was named interim general manager after Bryan Colangelo resigned after a social media scandal, where he and his wife criticized team members.[19][20][21] Before the 76ers found his replacement in former player Elton Brand on September 20, 2018, Brown signed off on multiple trades that the 76ers did in the months of June & July, including an infamous trade during the 2018 NBA draft where Philadelphia native and 2x NCAA champion Mikal Bridges from Villanova University was traded to the Phoenix Suns for Zhaire Smith and a 2021 first round pick from the Miami Heat after being selected by the 76ers. He also signed off on the signings of players like Shake Milton, Norvel Pelle, and Anthony Brown at the time, as well as re-signing veterans like JJ Redick, Amir Johnson, and Demetrius Jackson.

On August 24, 2020, Brown was fired by the 76ers after being swept out of the first round of the 2020 NBA playoffs by the Boston Celtics.[22]

Return to San Antonio

On June 30, 2022, Brown re-joined the San Antonio Spurs as an assistant coach.[23]

National team career

Brown was an assistant coach of the Australia national team between 1995 and 2003, serving during the 1998 FIBA World Championship and the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics.[11] He was hired in 2009 to serve as head coach of the team, and held that position until 2012.[11] Under Brown, Australia finished 10th in the 2010 FIBA World Championship.[11] In the 2012 Summer Olympics, he led Australia to the quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by the United States national team, who won the tournament.[3]

On November 27, 2019, Brown returned to Australia national team as head coach replacing Andrej Lemanis.[24][25] He was expected to lead the team at the 2020 Summer Olympics but it was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic until 2021. Brown quit his role on October 13, 2020, without having led the team in a game. He cited his career uncertainty after his firing from the 76ers and the difficulties of travelling with his family due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the reasons for his departure.[26]

Head coaching record

NBA

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Philadelphia 2013–14 82 19 63 .232 5th in Atlantic — — — — Missed playoffs
Philadelphia 2014–15 82 18 64 .220 4th in Atlantic — — — — Missed playoffs
Philadelphia 2015–16 82 10 72 .122 5th in Atlantic — — — — Missed playoffs
Philadelphia 2016–17 82 28 54 .341 4th in Atlantic — — — — Missed playoffs
Philadelphia 2017–18 82 52 30 .634 3rd in Atlantic 10 5 5 .500 Lost in conference semifinals
Philadelphia 2018–19 82 51 31 .622 2nd in Atlantic 12 7 5 .583 Lost in conference semifinals
Philadelphia 2019–20 73 43 30 .589 3rd in Atlantic 4 0 4 .000 Lost in first round
Total 565 221 344 .391 26 12 14 .462

NBL

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
North Melbourne 1993 29 14 15 .483 8th 3 1 2 .333 Lost in quarter-finals
North Melbourne 1994 33 25 8 .758 1st 7 6 1 .857 Won NBL Finals
North Melbourne 1995 34 23 11 .676 2nd 8 5 3 .625 Lost in NBL Finals
North Melbourne 1996 28 15 13 .536 7th 2 0 2 .000 Lost in quarter-finals
North Melbourne 1997 35 20 15 .571 3rd 5 2 3 .400 Lost in semi-finals
North Melbourne 1998 30 9 21 .300 11th — — — — Missed playoffs
North Melbourne total 189 106 83 .561 25 14 11 .560 1 NBL championship
Sydney Kings 2000–01 31 18 13 .581 5th 3 1 2 .333 Lost in quarter-finals
Sydney Kings 2001–02 30 14 16 .467 7th — — — — Missed playoffs
Sydney total 61 32 29 .525 3 1 2 .333 —
Total 250 138 112 .552 28 15 13 .536 1 NBL championships

Personal life

Brown met and married his wife, Anna, in Australia. They have two daughters and a son, Sam.[3] The family resides in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania.

References

  1. ^ "Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame to induct 5". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Jordan, Glenn (July 2, 2013). "Brett Brown hot name in coaching". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Brett Brown". NBA.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  4. ^ Hofmann, Rich (July 22, 2013). "A Closer Look at Brett Brown". Philly.com. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  5. ^ "NZ Basketball in the 1980s - part 1". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  6. ^ "Former NBL coach gets top job". NBL.com. August 15, 2013. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  7. ^ Nagy, Boti (April 2, 2009). "New Boomers coach Brett Brown to take charge in Las Vegas in July". Fox Sports. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  8. ^ Goldsberry, Kirk (June 2, 2014). "The Foreign Legion in San Antonio". Grantland. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  9. ^ "Brett Brown Named Assistant Coach". NBA.com. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  10. ^ Dominguez, Raul (March 24, 2014). "Popovich feels bad, but not sorry, for Brett Brown". CSNPhilly. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  11. ^ a b c d Ward, Roy (October 29, 2012). "Brett Brown resigns as Boomers coach". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  12. ^ Lowe, Zach (January 22, 2014). "Q&A: Brett Brown on His Spurs Past, His Philly Future, and Going for a Jog". Grantland. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  13. ^ a b AP (August 14, 2013). "76ers hire Brett Brown as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  14. ^ Wolf, Jason (August 15, 2013). "Brett Brown demanded 4-year contract to coach Sixers". USA Today. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  15. ^ Feldman, Dan (April 7, 2014). "Extra Pass: How Brett Brown and his 76ers have embraced their youth". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  16. ^ Golliver, Ben (March 30, 2014). "Sixers blow out Pistons, snap record-tying losing streak at 26 games". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  17. ^ Lynam, Dei (May 5, 2014). "ROY Carter-Williams grew with coach Brett Brown". Comcast Sportsnet. Archived from the original on June 15, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  18. ^ "Sixers Extend Brett Brown's Contract". NBA.com. December 11, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  19. ^ "Statement from Philadelphia 76ers Managing Partner Josh Harris". NBA.com. June 7, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  20. ^ "Bryan Colangelo resigns as president of 76ers". ESPN.com. June 7, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  21. ^ Joyce, Greg (June 7, 2018). "76ers GM Bryan Colangelo out over Twitter scandal". New York Post. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  22. ^ "Sixers fire Brett Brown after first-round sweep". NBA.com. August 24, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  23. ^ "SPURS NAME BRETT BROWN ASSISTANT COACH". NBA. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  24. ^ "Australian Boomers Announce New Coach Ahead of Tokyo Olympics". australia.basketball. November 27, 2019. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  25. ^ Uluc, Olgun (November 27, 2019). "Brett Brown confirmed as Australian Boomers head coach for Tokyo 2020, replacing Andrej Lemanis". Fox Sports. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  26. ^ "Brett Brown quits as Boomers head coach after losing NBA job". ABC News. October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
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