PALO ALTO, Calif. \u2014 Mikel Brown Jr.\u2019s best highlight only came because of an injury.<\/p>\n
The Louisville freshman guard has established himself as a potential lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft because of his mix of shooting and athletic finishing. The best example of that came in the volcanic lefty jam he threw down in an early-season game against Arkansas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was all right-handed,\u201d Brown said. \u201cLike elementary and middle school, I was all right hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ended up breaking my finger, which caused me to get surgery, so I had a cast on my right hand, so all I had was my left hand. So I was constantly doing stuff with my left, and ultimately, my left has become as strong, if not stronger than my right hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Especially as a dunker, as Arkansas found out.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy left hand is definitely my hand that I usually like to go to. Like John Wall. John Wall\u2019s left-handed dunker. It\u2019s just different. I think I catch a lot of people off guard with it, and I\u2019m glad to have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
John Wall? The guy whose last full season was in 2018? Yes, this tracks.<\/p>\n
One thing that stood out when I caught up with Brown in early January was that almost any basketball topic would lead to these references to players from several years ago, some of whom became stars before the 19-year-old Orlando, Fla., native was even born. He may be young, but as a basketball viewer, he\u2019s an old soul.<\/p>\n
Averaging 16.4 points and 5.0 assists thus far, Brown\u2019s ability to break down defenders off the dribble, accelerate to the cup and complete wrong-footed finishes in the paint has scouts pondering how he might fare in the more open floor of the NBA.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always had that quick twitch, that knack for touching the paint,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIf you\u2019re a guard that touches the paint a lot of times in a game, you\u2019re gonna create so many advantages for others. And that\u2019s definitely a point of emphasis to get in the paint, create for myself and others, from Coach PK (Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey).\u201d<\/p>\n
Conversely, while Brown is shooting only 28.3 percent from 3, nobody is really sweating it. Watching him shoot clean releases with deep range in warmups, it\u2019s clear he projects as a plus shooter. His 3-point volume (14.4 per 100 possessions, with a heavy component off the dribble) backs up that notion as well; historically, volume is a better long-term indicator than accuracy, as players tell on themselves by their shooting choices.<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s get back to those players he watches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI model my game after a lot of people. I take people\u2019s parts of their game and try to implement it to mine. Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Rajon Rondo. (Steph) Curry, in terms of moving off the ball. Trae Young and how he probes and how uses the pick-and-roll. Dame Lillard, how he gets his spots and creates shots for himself. I watch everybody, and I learn from everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yeah, Brown is a tapehead. And he\u2019s not just streaming YouTube clips either.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m watching full games,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just obsessed with just watching basketball. I enjoy watching basketball and, you know, I\u2019m sitting in front of the TV, and I could be watching just for the entertainment, but also I\u2019m like, dang, let me try to work on that move. Like, look how you created space. Let me try and go in a gym and work on it, right? That\u2019s a big thing for me. \u2026 I love this game of basketball so much that anybody I\u2019m watching, I\u2019m trying to get better from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fittingly, Brown\u2019s favorite player retired in 2016, when he was 10. He is a huge Kobe Bryant fan, but in this case, it\u2019s more about the attitude than the clips on tape.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis work ethic definitely inspires me,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThe way he goes about his craft, the way he\u2019s very detailed about it, I think, has definitely motivated me to be the same way, and being consistent with my routine and how he was consistent with his routine and when he would get in the gym and what he would work on.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Brown\u2019s game, one thing that stands out on his tape, especially as an Atlanta resident, is Brown\u2019s knack for rejecting screens with a right-to-left dribble and creating a runway to the rim. That\u2019s a move Young perfected with the Hawks. The twist for Brown is that he can combine that start with a wrong-footed finish at the cup, another skill he\u2019s mastered.<\/p>\n
\u201cRejects are big for us as guards. That\u2019s one of the first options that we want. If we get a reject, we basically have an advantage,\u201d Brown said. \u201cEverything else opens up because everybody was playing for that ball screen. So now you reject, and now everybody\u2019s in the scramble.\u201d<\/p>\n
By this point, you\u2019ve likely noted that most of the players he\u2019s talking about are point guards. While most draftniks see Brown more as a combo, he sounded pretty comfortable with the idea of playing as an on-ball creator.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you need me to be that point guard, to orchestrate everything and get people involved, I can be that,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIf you want me to score, I can do that as well. (But) I do think my best attribute is creating for others at the end of the day, just to see my teammates and put them in the best position to take advantage of an opportunity. I really thrive on that, and that kind of gets me going.\u201d<\/p>\n