Corey Brewer

Corey Brewer
Corey Brewer
Born	Corey Wayne Brewer; March 5, 1986 (age 40); Portland, Tennessee, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Basketball player, coach
Years active	2007–2020 (player), 2020–present (coach)
Known for	Professional basketball player; assistant coach for the New Orleans Pelicans

Corey Wayne Brewer (born March 5, 1986) is a retired American professional basketball athlete and currently serves as an assistant coach for the New Orleans Pelicans. During his collegiate years, he represented the Florida Gators and contributed to their consecutive NCAA national championship victories in 2006 and 2007. Brewer earned the distinction of Most Outstanding Player in the 2007 NCAA tournament.

Selected seventh overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2007 NBA Draft, Brewer enjoyed a 13-year career across several NBA franchises before moving into coaching.

Early years

Originating from Portland, Tennessee, Brewer attended Portland High School, where he competed for the Portland Panthers basketball team. Standing 6 feet 7 inches and weighing 174 pounds as a senior in the 2003–04 season, he averaged 29.4 points and 12.8 rebounds per contest. His performance earned him the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) Class 2A Mr. Basketball title, selection as a McDonald's All American, and recognition as a fourth-team Parade All-American.

Rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com, Brewer was ranked seventh among small forwards and thirty-first overall nationally in the class of 2004.

College career

Brewer accepted a scholarship at the University of Florida, where he played under head coach Billy Donovan from 2004 through 2007. He was a vital member of a freshman cohort that secured three straight SEC tournament championships (2005–2007) and led the Gators to consecutive NCAA titles in 2006 and 2007.

On December 18, 2005, Brewer achieved the first-ever triple-double in Florida Gators history, tallying 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists—the assist count being the highest since Jason Williams set a team record with 17 in 1997.

Although projected as a likely lottery selection in the 2006 NBA draft, Brewer decided to remain for his junior season alongside fellow teammates Joakim Noah and Al Horford to compete for another NCAA championship. After clinching the title in 2007, Brewer declared for the NBA draft on April 5, joining Noah and Horford in entering professional ranks.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2007–2011)

The Minnesota Timberwolves chose Brewer with the seventh overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. Following Malik Sealy’s retirement and jersey number retirement at Minnesota, Brewer selected No. 22 when participating in summer league games held in Las Vegas.

On November 29, 2008, Brewer sustained an ACL injury during a matchup against the Denver Nuggets, which caused him to miss the remainder of the 2008–09 NBA season.

Dallas Mavericks (2011)

On February 22, 2011, Brewer was included in a three-team trade that sent him to the New York Knicks while facilitating Carmelo Anthony’s move from Denver to New York. However, Brewer was released by the Knicks on March 1, 2011, without appearing in any games.

Shortly after, on March 3, 2011, Brewer inked a three-year deal worth $8 million with the Dallas Mavericks. He captured his first NBA Championship when Dallas triumphed over the Miami Heat in six games during the 2011 NBA Finals.

Denver Nuggets (2011–2013)

On December 13, 2011, Brewer, along with Rudy Fernández, was traded to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for a future second-round draft pick and a traded player exception.

Return to Minnesota (2013–2014)

Brewer rejoined the Minnesota Timberwolves on July 12, 2013, signing a reported three-year deal worth $15 million, marking his second tenure with the franchise.

On April 11, 2014, Brewer achieved a career-best performance by scoring 51 points in a 112–110 victory over the Houston Rockets. This feat placed him alongside Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, and Rick Barry as the only players to record over 50 points and at least six steals in a single game. Additionally, he equaled Kevin Love's franchise record for most points scored in one contest.

Houston Rockets (2014–2017)

Brewer was acquired by the Houston Rockets on December 19, 2014, through a three-team trade involving the Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers. He made his Rockets debut three days later against the Portland Trail Blazers, contributing 12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 steals in a 110–95 victory. On February 21, 2015, Brewer posted season-high numbers with 26 points and 10 rebounds during a 98–76 win over the Toronto Raptors. In the Semi Finals of the 2015 NBA Playoffs, coming off the bench, he recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds to help Houston rally from a 3–1 deficit to defeat the Clippers and advance to the Western Conference Finals.

On July 14, 2015, Brewer agreed to a new three-year contract with Houston valued at $23.4 million. By January 22, 2016, he had secured the starting small forward position. On February 4 of that year, Brewer scored a season-high of 24 points in a 111–105 victory against the Phoenix Suns during his ninth start of the season.

Los Angeles Lakers (2017–2018)

On February 23, 2017, Brewer was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers along with a first-round pick in the 2017 draft in exchange for Lou Williams. He was waived by the Lakers on February 28, 2018, following a buyout agreement.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2018)

Brewer signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 3, 2018, reuniting with his former college coach Billy Donovan. On March 16, he tallied 22 points and matched his career-best with six steals in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Philadelphia 76ers (2019)

On January 15, 2019, Brewer inked a 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, which was extended by another similar contract on January 25. After the conclusion of his second short-term deal, the team opted not to sign him for the remainder of the season.

Sacramento Kings (2019–2020)

Brewer initially joined the Sacramento Kings on February 8, 2019, signing a 10-day contract. He subsequently secured a second 10-day agreement on February 18, followed by a contract for the remainder of the season on February 28. After spending a significant portion of the 2019–20 NBA season as a free agent prior to its suspension, Brewer rejoined the Kings on June 23, 2020, in anticipation of the season's scheduled restart.

BIG3 Basketball (2022–Present)

In 2022, Brewer became a participant in the Big 3 basketball league, which features a 3-on-3 half-court format. As of the 2026 season, he competes with the Houston Rig Hands. Brewer earned a championship title in 2024 while playing for Bivouac and remains active both as a player and as a coach with the New Orleans Pelicans, with no indication of retirement from the league.

Coaching career

Following his retirement from professional play, Brewer was appointed by the New Orleans Pelicans as a player development coach on November 16, 2020. On September 27, 2024, he received a promotion to assistant coach within the organization.

Regular season

|- | align="left" | | align="left" | Minnesota | 79 || 35 || 22.8 || .374 || .194 || .800 || 3.7 || 1.4 || 1.0 || .3 || 5.8 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Minnesota | 15 || 8 || 20.5 || .411 || .417 || .737 || 3.3 || 1.7 || 1.0 || .2 || 6.2 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Minnesota | style="background:#cfecec;"| 82* || style="background:#cfecec;"| 82* || 30.3 || .431 || .346 || .648 || 3.4 || 2.4 || 1.4 || .4 || 13.0 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Minnesota | 56 || 22 || 24.3 || .384 || .263 || .708 || 2.7 || 1.4 || 1.6 || .2 || 8.6 |- | style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| † | align="left" | Dallas | 13 || 2 || 11.4 || .490 || .308 || .714 || 1.8 || .9 || .8 || .2 || 5.3 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Denver | 59 || 17 || 21.8 || .434 || .260 || .692 || 2.5 || 1.5 || 1.2 || .3 || 8.9 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Denver | style="background:#cfecec;"| 82* || 2 || 24.4 || .425 || .296 || .690 || 2.9 || 1.5 || 1.4|| .3||12.1 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Minnesota |81||81||32.2|| .481|| .280|| .718||2.6||1.7||1.9|| .4||12.3 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Minnesota |24||16||28.3|| .418|| .195|| .705|| 3.9|| 3.3|| 2.3|| .2||10.5 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Houston |56||1||25.1|| .429|| .284|| .764||3.6||1.7||1.1|| .3||11.9 |- | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | Houston | style="background:#cfecec;" | 82*||12||20.4|| .384|| .272|| .750||2.4||1.3||1.0|| .2||7.2 |- | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | Houston |58||8||15.9|| .414|| .234|| .727||2.0||1.1|| .6|| .2||4.2 |- | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | L.A. Lakers 24||3||14.9||||438|||208|||750|||22|||15|||10|||54 |- style=text-align:left; style=text-align:left;"L.A." Lakers 54|||2|||12..9|||..453|||..186|||667|||..1..7|||..8|||..8|||..1|||..37 |- style=text-align:left; style=text-align:left;"Oklahoma City" 18|||16|||28..6|||..444|||..343|||795|||..3..4|||..13|||..21|||..3|||10..1 |- style=text-align:left; style=text-align:left;"Philadelphia" 7|||3|||20..0|||..408|||..286|||692|||..24|||14|||17|||..3|||76 |- style=text-align:left; style=text-align:left;"Sacramento" 24|||0|||14..7|||446|||333|||733|||25|||12|||08|||02|||41 |- style=text-align:left; style=text-align:left;"Sacramento" 5|||0|||6..6||||500||||000||||333||||16||||04||||-||||10 |- class=sortbottom style=text-align:center colspan=2 Career 819||||310||||22..9||||425||||284||||713||||28||||15||||12||||03||||87

Playoff Performance

|- | style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2011† | align="left" | Dallas | 6 || 0 || 3.8 || .444 || .333 || .000 || .3 || .2 || .7 || .0 || 1.5 |- | align="left" | 2012 | align="left" | Denver | 7 || 0 || 16.6 || .426 || .300 || .750 || 2.0 || .9 || 1.0 || .3 || 8.3 |- | align="left" | 2013 | align="left" | Denver | 6 || 0 || 24.3 || .309 || .250 || .667 || 1.8 || 1.2 || 1.0 || .2 || 10.8 |- | align="left" | 2015 | align="left" | Houston | 17 || 0 || 25.2 || .431 || .286 || .636 || 2.8 || 1.1 || .6 || .2 || 11.2 |- | align="left" | 2016 | align="left" | Houston | 5 || 1 || 15.4 || .259 || .100 || .875 || 1.4 || 1.6 || .0 || .2 || 4.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2018 | style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City | 6 || 6 || 25.2 || .520 || .455 || 1.000 || 2.2 || .8 || 1.2 || .8 || 6.2 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" | Overall Career | 47 || 7 || 20.0 || .400 || .279 || .694 || 2.0 || 1.0 || .7 || .3 || 8.1

External links