Brett William Brown (born February 16, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

of the

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

(NBA). Brown is a former

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

player who previously served as head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers from 2013 to 2020. Before that, Brown was an assistant on

Gregg Popovich Gregg Charles Popovich (born January 28, 1949) is an American professional basketball executive and former coach who is the president for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the List of current NBA head co ...

'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 Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, 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. Brown transferred to South Portland where he became a star basketball player at South Portland High School, from which he graduated in 1979. 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. 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.

Collegiate career

Brown played four seasons at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

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. By the time he graduated, Brown had compiled the fourth-most assists in school history. After graduation, he served as a graduate assistant under coach John Kuester. Brown also took a sales job with

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

, saving enough money to take a backpacking trip to

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

in 1987.

Coaching career

NBL

In 1988, after a coaching stint in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

with Altos Auckland, Brown made a cold call to

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Joh ...

head coach Lindsay Gaze, ultimately leading to a job offer. He spent four seasons as an assistant to Gaze in the Australian NBL. In 1992, Brown secured his first senior head coaching position in Australia with the Bulleen Boomers of the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was a semi-professional basketball league in Australia comprising both a men's and women's competition. The SEABL began in 1981 and operated for 38 seasons until it was disbanded in 2018. The ...

(SEABL). There he coached Drederick Irving. Brown became head coach of the North Melbourne Giants in 1993 and was named NBL Coach of the Year in 1994, when he led the Giants to a

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

victory over the Adelaide 36ers. He served as head coach of the Giants until 1998, before taking a job with the

. Following his stint with the Spurs, Brown coached the Sydney Kings from 2000 to 2002. Overall, he was a head coach for 278 NBL games, winning 54 percent of the time.

San Antonio Spurs

After attending a basketball camp run by Brown and Andrew Gaze,

general manager

R. C. Buford Robert Canterbury Buford (born May 16, 1960) is an American basketball executive who is the CEO of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named general manager in 2002 after five seasons serving as team presid ...

hired Brown as an unpaid member of the Spurs' basketball operations department for the 1998–99 lockout-shortened season. 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. 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. He was promoted to assistant coach in September 2007, working under coach

. Popovich calls Brown "one of his best friends," and Brown would later incorporate many of Popovich's concepts into his own offensive system. He played a major role in signing Australian guard Patty Mills, who played under him for the Australian national team. Brown was a member of the Spurs organization for four of their

-winning seasons.

Philadelphia 76ers

During the 2013 NBA off-season, Brown was offered a chance to succeed

Mike Budenholzer Michael Vincent Budenholzer (born August 6, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach who most recently served as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Budenholzer previously head coached the M ...

as the top assistant on Gregg Popovich's staff, but in August 2013, he chose instead to become head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. He inherited a team in "total rebuilding mode" led by new general manager Sam Hinkie, and the Sixers were only able to woo Brown away from the Spurs after offering a 4-year guaranteed contract. His appointment made him the 24th head coach in the

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

of the franchise, 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. 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. Sixers point guard

Michael Carter-Williams Michael Carter-Williams (born October 10, 1991) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted in the first round with the 11th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, after playing college basketball f ...

won the

NBA Rookie of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb Tr ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, and credited Brown for helping him win the award and grow as a player. On December 11, 2015, the 76ers signed Brown to a contract extension. 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. 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 The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including internationa ...

where Philadelphia native and 2x NCAA champion Mikal Bridges from

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

was traded to the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

for Zhaire Smith and a 2021 first round pick from the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

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 The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

Return to San Antonio

On June 30, 2022, Brown re-joined the

as an assistant coach.

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 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. He was hired in 2009 to serve as head coach of the team, and held that position until 2012. Under Brown, Australia finished 10th in the

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the List of men's national basketball teams, men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 Septem ...

. In the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, he led Australia to the quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by the United States national team, who won the tournament. On November 27, 2019, Brown returned to Australia national team as head coach replacing

Andrej Lemanis Andrej Lemanis (, born 18 March 1969) is a Latvian-Australian professional basketball coach and former player. Lemanis served as the head coach of Australia men's national basketball team, Australia national team from 2013 to 2019. Lemanis coach ...

. He was expected to lead the team at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

but it was delayed by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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.

Head coaching record

NBA

, - , align="left" ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, align="left" , , 82, , 19, , 63, , , , align="center" , 5th in

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

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, align="left" , , 82, , 18, , 64, , , , align="center" , 4th in Atlantic, , —, , —, , —, , —, , align="center" , Missed playoffs , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 10, , 72, , , , align="center" , 5th in Atlantic, , —, , —, , —, , —, , align="center" , Missed playoffs , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 28, , 54, , , , align="center" , 4th in Atlantic, , —, , —, , —, , —, , align="center" , Missed playoffs , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 52, , 30, , , , align="center" , 3rd in Atlantic, , 10, , 5, , 5, , , , align="center" , Lost in conference semifinals , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 51, , 31, , , , align="center" , 2nd in Atlantic, , 12, , 7, , 5, , , , align="center" , Lost in conference semifinals , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 73, , 43, , 30, , , , align="center" , 3rd in Atlantic, , 4, , 0, , 4, , , , align="center" , Lost in

first round First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

, -class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Total , 565, , 221, , 344, , , , , , 26, , 12, , 14, , , ,

NBL

, - , align="left" ,

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...

, align="left" ,

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, 29, , 14, , 15, , , , align="center" , 8th , , 3 , , 1 , , 2 , , , , align="center" , Lost in quarter-finals , - , align="left" , North Melbourne , align="left" ,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, 33, , 25, , 8, , , , align="center" , 1st , , 7 , , 6 , , 1 , , , , align="center" , Won NBL Finals , - , align="left" , North Melbourne , align="left" ,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, 34, , 23, , 11, , , , align="center" , 2nd , , 8 , , 5 , , 3 , , , , align="center" , Lost in NBL Finals , - , align="left" , North Melbourne , align="left" ,

, 28, , 15, , 13, , , , align="center" , 7th , , 2 , , 0 , , 2 , , , , align="center" , Lost in quarter-finals , - , align="left" , North Melbourne , align="left" ,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, 35, , 20, , 15, , , , align="center" , 3rd , , 5 , , 2 , , 3 , , , , align="center" , Lost in semi-finals , - , align="left" , North Melbourne , align="left" ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, 30, , 9, , 21, , , , align="center" , 11th , , — , , — , , — , , — , , align="center" , Missed playoffs , - , align="center" colspan="2" , North Melbourne total , 189, , 106, , 83, , , , , , 25 , , 14 , , 11 , , , , align="center", 1 NBL championship , - , align="left" , Sydney Kings , align="left" , 2000–01 , 31, , 18, , 13, , , , align="center" , 5th , , 3 , , 1 , , 2 , , , , align="center" , Lost in quarter-finals , - , align="left" , Sydney Kings , align="left" , 2001–02 , 30, , 14, , 16, , , , align="center" , 7th , , — , , — , , — , , — , , align="center" , Missed playoffs , - , align="center" colspan="2" , Sydney total , 61, , 32, , 29, , , , , , 3 , , 1 , , 2 , , , , align="center", — , - , align="center" colspan="2" , Total , 250, , 138, , 112, , , , , , 28, , 15, , 13, , , , align="center", 1 NBL championships

Personal life

Brown met and married his wife, Anna, in Australia. They have two daughters, Julia and Laura, and a son, Sam. The family resides in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Brett 1961 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Maine Basketball players from Maine Boston University Terriers men's basketball players National Basketball League (Australia) coaches NBA general managers North Melbourne Giants coaches Sportspeople from South Portland, Maine Philadelphia 76ers executives Philadelphia 76ers head coaches San Antonio Spurs assistant coaches South Portland High School alumni Sydney Kings coaches 20th-century American sportsmen