Brian Bowen II (born October 2, 1998) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Stockton Kings The Stockton Kings are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Stockton, California, and are affiliated with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings play their home games at the Adventist Health Arena and compete in the G ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. He originally committed to play

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 ...

for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

but was suspended by the team after a national college basketball corruption scandal which alleged that his family accepted payments in exchange for his choice to attend Louisville. He later tried to play for the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

, but due to an NCAA ruling, he removed himself from college and 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 ...

altogether. Nicknamed "Tugs", he was named a

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as a senior in high school in 2017.

High school career

20170329 MCDAAG Brian Bowen II moves toward the paint

Bowen played at Arthur Hill High School in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

, before transferring to La Lumiere School in

La Porte, Indiana La Porte () is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat. Its population was estimated to be 21,341 in 2022. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana metropolitan stat ...

, in 2015. He had three points in the 2017 McDonald's All-American Boys Game. As a senior at La Lumiere, he had averaged 22 points per contest, while leading his team to a national championship at the Dick's Sporting Goods high school tournament. In the 2017 Jordan Brand Classic, he scored a game high 26 points, including 6-of-7 from beyond the arc, and was named co-MVP.

College recruiting

Bowen was the last five-star recruit in the class of 2017 to announce his college commitment. It was announced on June 3, 2017, that he would be enrolling at

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

. He reportedly also had offers from

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, DePaul and Creighton on the table. In September 2017, a

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

investigative report into a college basketball corruption scandal made an ostensibly anonymous reference to alleged payments to the family of a student-athlete named only as "Player-10" who was recruited by an institution named only as "University-6". That university was described in such a way that it could only have been the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

. Player-10's signing was reportedly announced on or about June 3, 2017, and Bowen was the only Louisville player whose signing was in fact announced on or about that day. At the end of the summer, he enrolled in classes and began participating in preseason team activities as scheduled. On September 27, 2017, Louisville coach

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

and athletic director Tom Jurich were placed on administrative leave, and eventually dismissed. On the same day, Bowen was also suspended from all team activities, but he continued to be enrolled in the school and he still had his scholarship. On November 3, 2017, Bowen was cleared by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

. On November 22, 2017, Louisville announced that Bowen will not play or practice for the team. Academically, he was still a student in good standing at the time. On January 10, 2018,

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

coach Frank Martin announced that Bowen had enrolled at the university and would join the Gamecocks' basketball program. The university anticipated that Bowen would have to sit out the next two semesters, due to NCAA transfer regulations, meaning he would be able to begin playing within January 2019. However, on April 18, 2018, Bowen announced his intentions on entering the

, with him later being one of 69 players to enter that year's NBA Draft Combine. He would do so without hiring an agent, meaning he originally planned to return properly, but only if his confirmation on his transfer would be approved by the May 30 deadline. However, by that point in time, he had heard from the NCAA that he would have been forced to sit out for at least another season due to the combination of alleged benefits that were given to his family back when he committed to Louisville and his transfer soon afterward to South Carolina. As a result, he officially announced his entry for the 2018 NBA Draft that day instead of returning to college. However, on the June 11 international deadline, Bowen announced his withdrawal from the 2018 draft, which would allow him to either play in the

or overseas professionally before potentially returning in a future NBA Draft.

Professional career

Sydney Kings (2018–2019)

After withdrawing from the

during the final entry deadline, Bowen made the decision to forgo college and pursue a professional contract. On August 7, 2018, Bowen signed with the

Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and play their home games at Qudos Ba ...

of the Australian NBL. During the 2018–19 NBL season, he played in 30 games while averaging 6.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. At the season's end, Bowen became automatically eligible for the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible p ...

Indiana Pacers (2019–2021)

Bowen was not selected in the 2019 NBA draft. On July 1, 2019, Bowen signed 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 o ...

with the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

and their G League affiliate, the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Noblesville Boom are an American professional basketball team based in Noblesville, Indiana that competes in the NBA G League. The Boom are the affiliate team of the NBA's Indiana Pacers and, since 2025, they have played their home games at ...

. Bowen averaged 16.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in the G League. On November 29, 2020, the

announced that they had re-signed with Bowen to a

. On April 23, 2021, the Pacers waived Bowen. Bowen later filed a lawsuit at the

United States District Court for the District of South Carolina The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (in case citations, D.S.C.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of South Carolina. Court is held in the cities of Aiken, Anderson, Beaufort, Charle ...

against Adidas and others who he claimed derailed his NBA career, but the case was dismissed on May 26, 2021.

Iowa Wolves (2021–2023)

On September 20, 2021, Bowen signed with the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

. However, he was waived prior to the start of the season. On October 26, he signed with the

Iowa Wolves The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena and compete in the Western ...

as an affiliate player. On March 10, 2022, he was waived. On March 9, 2023, Bowen was reacquired by the

. On October 21, he signed with the

, but was waived the same day. On October 29, he returned to Iowa, but was waived on December 14. On January 2, 2024, Bowen joined the

Windy City Bulls The Windy City Bulls are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and are affiliated with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls play their home games at Now Arena, from Chicago. It became the thirte ...

, but was waived five days later without playing for them.

Cleveland Charge (2024)

On January 19, 2024, Bowen joined the Cleveland Charge, but was waived eleven days later

Stockton Kings (2024–present)

On February 20, 2024, Bowen joined the

Career statistics

NBA

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Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

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, 6, , 0, , 2.5, , .250, , .000, , 1.000, , .5, , .0, , .0, , .0, , .5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 12, , 1, , 3.8, , .286, , .000, , 1.000, , .8, , .0, , .0, , .1, , .8

NBL

, - , align="left" , 2018–19 , align="left" ,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, 28 , , 3 , , 15.5, , .462, , .351, , .788 , , 3.0, , .6, , .3, , .1, , 6.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 28 , , 3 , , 15.5, , .462, , .351, , .788 , , 3.0, , .6, , .3, , .1, , 6.5

References

External links

*
ESPN profile

Scout.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Brian 1998 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Australia American men's basketball players Cleveland Charge players Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Indiana Pacers players Iowa Wolves players La Lumiere School alumni McDonald's High School All-Americans Shooting guards Small forwards Basketball players from Saginaw, Michigan Stockton Kings players Sydney Kings players Undrafted NBA players United States men's national basketball team players