Editor’s note: This story was originally published prior to the NBA Draft and has been updated.
Missouri senior forward Kobe Brown is a fascinating sleeper available in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Brown averaged 15.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 45.5 percent on 3-pointers last season. He also added 1.5 steals per game and was named First-Team All-SEC in 2023.
After the season ended, Brown immediately became focused on turning pro.
“I really didn’t take but a day or so off,” Brown told For The Win during a recent interview. “I tried to keep things going because I knew this process was going to be a very crucial part of everything. It’s been really great. A lot of discipline.”
Brown says that the offseason has included “a lot of self-improvement” and training in the months leading up to the draft on June 22. Soon, he will learn where he will begin his professional career.
Although he wasn’t included as a projected first-round pick in our latest consensus mock draft, Brown could outperform his draft position and soon provide tremendous value for whatever team selects him. His highest ranking in any mock draft is No. 35 overall, per HoopsHype.
Until then, here are four of the most important things you need to know about Brown.
1
Brown can make an immediate impact on defense
Perhaps the most important element to know about Brown is his will to compete defensively. He is one of just four players in SEC history to record at least 500 defensive rebounds, 100 steals and 50 blocks.
This was crucial as Missouri scored 29.7 points per 100 possessions after forcing turnovers, per CBB Analytics, which ranked second-best among all high-major programs.
“I hate when other guys get the best of me. I just tried to show that no matter who the guy is, I’m going to give it my all no matter what,” Brown explained. “Especially on defense, it’s not always about who is quicker than the other. It’s about who’s outthinking the other person. When those times come up, you have to outsmart the next guy.”
When asked why his game will scale well at the next level, Brown mentioned his size.
Kobe Brown's strength and physicality are overwhelming defensively pic.twitter.com/VlRhBuurFr
— Mavs/Magic Draft (@MavsDraft) April 21, 2023
“I would say my physicality and being able to step into the league and just be able to fight with bigger guys and fight with strong guys off the rip,” Brown said. “That’s a big thing I pride myself on.”
Brown measured at 6-foot-6.5 in socks with a 7-foot-0.75 wingspan, weighing 252 pounds. Those are similar measurements to longtime NBA forwards including Paul Millsap, Udonis Haslem and Draymond Green.
The first-team All-SEC forward can see himself having a similar role in the pros.
“All those guys are great glue guys,” Brown said. “They keep the team together. They do a lot of different things for the team. If those guys ever get hurt or get out of the game, you can always tell the difference between the flow of the game.”
2
Brown was one of the most efficient players in college basketball
Last season, Brown averaged 1.16 points per possession. That ranked third-best among the 436 Division I men’s college basketball players with at least offensive 450 finishes, per Synergy.
One of the sources of his efficient play was due to improvements he made with his jump shot. After shooting less than 30.0 percent on 3-pointers during each of his first three seasons at Missouri, he connected on 45.5 percent of his 3-pointers as a senior.
“[It’s just] reading the game and knocking the open shots,” Brown added. “I really try to be wherever the team needs me to be.”
Brown shot 19-for-30 (63.3 percent) on his uncontested 3-pointers, per Stats Perform, which was the best mark among all prospects with at least 10 attempts tracked. He was also 34-for-54 (62.9 percent) on his uncontested jumpers, which ranked second-best among all prospects with at least 20 attempts tracked.
“I want to win and go in and do what the team needs, really, whether that’s shooting or passing or dribbling or whatever the case may be,” Brown explained. “I just want to be that guy that gets called on to do X, Y and Z.
3
Brown is one of the best passers at his position
One of Brown’s best traits is his feel for the game and his court vision.
“My foundation was always guard play,” said Brown, who credits his father for creating those playmaking instincts. “He started me off with guard things and doing what guards do.”
Just have to show some of my favorite Kobe Brown clips — his outlet passing. He rewards those who run and uses his passing feel to generate transition for his teammates
A super fun trait from a super fun player
Read my Kobe Brown scout here: https://t.co/FYGaVRCBJR pic.twitter.com/vwIK8MjswI
— The Box and One (@TheBoxAndOne_) May 29, 2023
Among all collegiate prospects projected to get drafted who are taller than 6-foot-6, per Bart Torvik, Brown is one of just two who had an assist percentage above 15.0 percent while also recording a turnover percentage below 15.0 percent.
“When you’re passing the ball at that level, it feels like the whole team is thriving,” Brown explained. “I’ve always been a people person. I like helping other people. Passing has always been natural, really.”
4
The story about how he got his name is incredible
Brown’s father, Greg, is a longtime high school basketball coach. Back in 1996, one of his players at Lee High School in Alabama named Ronnie Braxton was getting recruited by La Salle University in Philadelphia.
Brown took Braxton on a visit to La Salle and while in town, an assistant coach at the university invited them to watch his son play nearby at Lower Merion High School. The assistant coach was Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, who starred at La Salle in the early 1970s. His son was the late Kobe Bryant.
“He was amazing. He was always such a generational talent,” Brown explained. “My dad left saying that if he ever had a son, he would name him after Kobe, and that’s how I came to be.”
“If I ever have a kid,” Greg Brown told Joe Bryant, “his name is going to be Kobe.”
On Jan. 1, 2000, Kobe Brown was born.
He now wears No. 24 for Mizzou basketball to honor Kobe Bryant.
(Popcorn pic is his family at @Lakers game)
Story for @stltoday: https://t.co/g6huEFAM3v pic.twitter.com/85jMGOGEbo
— Benjamin Hochman (@hochman) January 29, 2020
Only a few months later, Bryant was selected in the first round of the 1996 NBA Draft. It wasn’t long before Bryant won his first NBA championship in 2000, which is the same year that Brown was born.
“Growing up, I thought I would never meet another Kobe,” Brown said. “I thought I was one of the only ones.”
But the name Kobe became more popular around that time. While there were only 241 children named Kobe per year in the 1990s, per the Social Security Administration, that number spiked to 1,242 per year between 2000 and 2004 as Bryant won three consecutive NBA championships.
In fact, Brown isn’t actually the only player Kobe hoping to hear his name called in the 2023 NBA Draft. Michigan sophomore Kobe Bufkin, born in 2003, is a projected draft pick as well.
“You definitely start to see it more now,” Brown said. “So that’s a cool thing. It’s cool to see.”
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