Gary Browne Ramírez (born March 24, 1993) is a Puerto Rican professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 ...

of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He also represents the Puerto Rican national team. He was named the BSN Most Valuable Player and Most Improved Player after a breakthrough season with

Atléticos de San Germán Atléticos de San Germán is a basketball club of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) based in San Germán, Puerto Rico. Founded in the 1930s after the amalgamation of the old San Germán team and the Farmacia Martín team, the team is one of ...

in 2017. He was also named as a reserve for the league All-Star Game.

Early life and high school

Gary Browne Ramírez was born in

Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico Trujillo Alto (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Northern Coastal Plain, on the boundary between the karst zone and Sierra de Luquillo, north of Caguas, and Gurabo; southeast of San Juan, and west of Carolina. Trujil ...

to Gary Browne, Sr. and Anamaris Rodríguez. However, he was raised in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

, specifically in

Cupey Cupey is one of the 18 barrios of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico located in the mountainous area of the municipality. It is the largest barrio or district in the San Juan and the third most populous with 36,058 inhabitants according ...

. He started playing basketball as a child. At the age of 14, he moved to the United States and attended

Arlington Country Day School Arlington Country Day School (ACDS) was a private school in Jacksonville, Florida. A non-sectarian coeducational school, it offered a K-12 education and enrolled over 400 students a year. It was notable for its successful boys' basketball program. ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. He would then come back to Puerto Rico and attend Saint Francis School in Carolina, where he played for the basketball team

College career

In 2011, Browne enrolled at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

and joined the Mountaineers basketball team. He played with the team for four seasons, averaging 6.2 points per game. As a senior, he averaged 7.0 points per game. He sprained his ankle in February 2015. After graduating, Browne made himself eligible for the 2015 NBA Draft, but went undrafted.

Professional career

Puerto Rico (2015–2019)

In 2015, Browne joined the Maratonistas de Coamo of the BSN league in Puerto Rico. He played in a total of 7 games, averaging 4 points and 1.9 assists per game. However, he did not play in the 2016 season. That year, the

acquired the rights to Browne. He said in an interview that he took the off-year to prepare himself physically for the 2017 season. Browne began the 2017 season as San Germán's starting

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

. He led the league in assists all through the season, finishing with an average of 7.5 per game. Browne's performance led his team into the playoffs, where they were eliminated by the

Piratas de Quebradillas The Piratas de Quebradillas is a Puerto Rican basketball team, part of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league. Founded in the mid 1920s, it is one of the original teams of the league. The club enjoyed its most successful era during the 1970s, ...

. Browne finished the season with averages of 11.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, and improved to 14.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game in the playoffs. On July 19, he was named the league's Most-Improved Player. Two weeks later, he was awarded the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. On June 7, 2018, Browne re-signed with Atléticos de San Germán for the 2018 BSN Season. In 19 games played during the 2018 season, he averaged 17.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. On June 11, 2019, Browne re-signed with Atléticos de San Germán for the 2019 BSN Season.

Israel (2017–2019)

On August 2, 2017, Browne signed with the Israeli team

Ironi Nes Ziona Ironi Ness Ziona B.C. (or spelled as Ironi Nes Ziona B.C.) is a professional basketball club based in Ness Ziona, Israel. The team plays its home games at the Lev Hamoshava, which has capacity for 1,200 people. The club plays in the Israeli Bask ...

for the 2017–18 season. On April 28, 2018, Browne recorded a career-high 32 points, shooting 6-of-10 from three-point range, along with six rebounds and six assists in a 101–91 win over Maccabi Rishon LeZion. Browne helped Nes Ziona to reach the 2018 Israeli League Playoffs, where they eventually lost to

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

in the Quarterfinals. On July 1, 2018, Browne signed a one-year contract extension with Ironi Nes Ziona. On January 19, 2019, Browne recorded a season-high 28 points, shooting 9-of-11 from the field, along with four rebounds, six assists and two steals, leading Nes Ziona to a 103–93 comeback win over

Ironi Nahariya Ironi Nahariya Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל עירוני נהריה; ) known for sponsorship reasons as Ironi Rain Nahariya () is a professional basketball club based in city of Nahariya in northern Israel. The team plays in t ...

. He was subsequently named Israeli League Round 15 MVP. In 36 Israeli League games played during the 2018–19 season, he averaged 13.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game, while shooting 39.5 percent from three-point range. Browne helped Nes Ziona reach the 2019 Israeli League Playoffs, where they eventually were eliminated by Hapoel Eilat in the Quarterfinals.

Turkey (2019–2020)

On September 23, 2019, Browne signed with Darüşşafaka Tekfen of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League ( tr, Basketbol Süper Ligi; BSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replac ...

as an injury cover for

Joe Ragland Joseph Alexander Ragland (born November 11, 1989) is an American-Liberian professional basketball player for Hapoel Holon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for North Platte Community College and Wichita Stat ...

. He averaged 10.8 points and 3.6 assists per game. On July 5, 2020, Browne parted ways with the team.

Italy (2020–2021)

On July 14, 2020, Browne signed with

Dolomiti Energia Trento Aquila Basket Trento, also known for sponsorship reasons as Dolomiti Energia Trento, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Trent, Trentino. It was founded in 1995 as an amalgamation of two local clubs, going from the amateur divisio ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier le ...

Return to Turkey (2021–2022)

On August 5, 2021, Browne signed with

Petkim Spor Petkim Spor Kulübü, more commonly known as Socar Spor is a Turkish professional basketball club based in İzmir which currently competes in the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL). The team was founded by Petkim in 2013 and got promoted to th ...

of the Turkish

Basketball Super League Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

(BSL).

Return to Puerto Rico (2022)

In March 2022, Browne joined

Australia (2022–present)

On June 15, 2022, Browne signed with the

in Australia for the

2022–23 NBL season The 2022–23 NBL season was the 45th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested in the 2022–23 season. Australian broadcast rights to the season are held by ESPN in the second sea ...

. He missed the first four games of the season after sustaining a knee injury during pre-season.

National team career

Browne is a member of the

Puerto Rico national basketball team The Puerto Rico national basketball team ( es, Selección de Baloncesto de Puerto Rico) represents Puerto Rico in men's international basketball competitions, it is governed by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation ( es, link=no, Federación de ...

. In August 2018, Browne won the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games Championship with the Puerto Rican team. On September 4, 2019, Browne scored a game-winning three-pointer against

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

with 5.1 seconds left, leading Puerto Rico to the second round of the

2019 FIBA World Cup The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament was hosted in China and was rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, becoming the first since 1967 that did no ...