Kendall Thomas Brown (born May 11, 2003) is an American professional

basketball 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 ...

player for the Indiana Pacers of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA), on a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the Indiana Mad Ants of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the Baylor Bears. He was a consensus five-star

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

and one of the best

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger ...

s in the 2021 class.

High school career

As a sophomore at East Ridge High School in

Woodbury, Minnesota Woodbury is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States, eight miles (13 km) east of Saint Paul along Interstate 94. It is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The population was 75,102 at the 2020 census, making it ...

, Brown averaged 17.6 points and led the team to its first state tournament appearance. After the season, he transferred to Sunrise Christian Academy in

Bel Aire, Kansas Bel Aire is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,262. History Bel Aire was founded in January 1955 when a group of local residents petitioned the ...

. Brown was teammates with top recruit

Kennedy Chandler Kennedy Collier Chandler (born September 16, 2002) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers bask ...

. As a senior, he helped his team reach the GEICO Nationals title game. He was named to the McDonald's All-American Game,

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school All-Star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys in the senior class including alumns like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Bl ...

and

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of international ...

rosters.

Recruiting

Brown was a consensus five-star

and one of the best

s in the 2021 class. On July 20, 2020, he committed to playing college basketball for Baylor over offers from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, among others. Brown is the highest-ranked recruit to come to Baylor since

Isaiah Austin Isaiah Charles Austin (born October 25, 1993) is an American former professional basketball player. He played two years of college basketball for Baylor University and was set to enter the NBA in 2014 until he was diagnosed with a mild form of M ...

in 2012. He said that since he came from a Christian high school, he liked the fact that Baylor was a Christian university.

College career

Prior to his freshman season, Brown was voted Preseason

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

Freshman of the Year. In his college debut, Brown scored 13 points in a 87–60 victory over Incarnate Word. He earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors twice (December 20 and March 7). As a freshman, Brown averaged 9.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. At the end of the season, he was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. On March 30, 2022, Brown declared for the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The ...

, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Indiana Pacers (2022–present)

Brown was selected with the 48th overall pick in the

by his hometown team, the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

. On June 23, 2022, the Timberwolves traded his draft rights to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for cash considerations and a 2026 second-round pick. On September 16, Brown signed a two-way contract with the Pacers. On February 27, 2023, he underwent surgery to address a tibia stress fracture in his right leg and was ruled out indefinitely by the Pacers. On July 25, 2023, Brown signed another two-way contract with the Pacers.

Career statistics

NBA

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Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

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College

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Personal life

Brown's father, Courtney Sr., played professional basketball in South America, Switzerland and England, and was a member of the Harlem Globetrotters, before becoming a public school intervention specialist. His older brother, Courtney Jr., plays college basketball for St. Thomas (MN).

References

External links

*
Baylor Bears bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Kendall 2003 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Minnesota Baylor Bears men's basketball players Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Indiana Pacers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Minnesota Timberwolves draft picks People from Cottage Grove, Minnesota Sportspeople from Washington County, Minnesota Shooting guards Small forwards