Shannon Brown

Shannon Brown
Born	(1985-11-29) November 29, 1985 Maywood, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Former professional basketball player
Years active	2006–2018
Known for	NBA player for Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Bobcats, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Miami Heat

Shannon Brown (born November 29, 1985) is a former American professional basketball athlete. He attended Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, where he earned the distinction of Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2003 before playing collegiate basketball at Michigan State University. Brown was chosen as the 25th overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2006 NBA draft.

High school and college career

While at Proviso East High School, Brown shared the court with fellow 2006 draftee Dee Brown. In 2003, he received honors as both Illinois Mr. Basketball and a McDonald's All-American.

Ranked as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Brown was nationally recognized as the top shooting guard and the third-best player overall in the class of 2003.

During his tenure with the Michigan State Spartans, Brown earned second-team All-Big Ten accolades in his junior year and was also named to the All-Big Ten Defensive team.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2006–2008)

Selected 25th in the first round of the 2006 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brown appeared in 23 games during his rookie season, including five starts. Despite dealing with a shin injury, he demonstrated promise with two double-digit scoring performances: 10 points against the New York on November 29 and 14 points versus the Toronto on March 3.

On March 2, 2007, Brown was assigned to the NBA Development League's Albuquerque Thunderbirds, but was recalled just one day later. In his sole outing for Albuquerque, he contributed 14 points along with four rebounds and six assists. He returned to the D-League on January 11, 2008, joining the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Over four contests, Brown averaged an impressive 23.5 points per game, including a standout 37-point effort against the Dakota Wizards on January 16. The Cavaliers recalled him on January 17.

By the midpoint of the 2007–08 season, Brown had participated in 15 games with four starts, averaging seven points per game.

Chicago Bulls (2008)

Brown was involved in a three-team trade on February 21, 2008, sending him to the Chicago Bulls. This deal also included the Bulls, Cavaliers, and Sonics. The Sonics acquired Cavs forwards Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall, along with Bulls forward Adrian Griffin. The Cavaliers received Bulls center Ben Wallace, forward Joe Smith, Chicago's 2009 second-round pick (Danny Green), Sonics forward Wally Szczerbiak, and guard Delonte West. Meanwhile, the Bulls obtained Brown, Cavs forward Drew Gooden, guard Larry Hughes, and forward Cedric Simmons.

Charlotte Bobcats (2008–2009)

On August 6, 2008, Brown agreed to a one-year deal with the Charlotte Bobcats for the NBA minimum salary of $800,000. During his time with Charlotte, he averaged 4.8 points per game while receiving limited playing opportunities.

Los Angeles Lakers (2009–2011)

Brown was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on February 7, 2009, along with Adam Morrison, in exchange for Vladimir Radmanović. Initially allotted minimal minutes, his playing time increased toward season’s end, averaging 16.4 minutes and scoring 7.2 points over his final five games.

In the playoffs facing the Utah Jazz, Brown averaged 17.4 minutes per game with contributions of 7.2 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. On July 6, 2009, he re-signed with Los Angeles on a two-year contract valued at $4.2 million.

Brown participated in the Sprite Slam Dunk Competition during the 2010 NBA All-Star Weekend but was eliminated in the first round. On January 18, 2010, he led scoring for the Lakers with 22 points in a victory over the Orlando Magic. On February 16 of that year, he recorded a then-career-high of 27 points along with ten rebounds to secure his first double-double. He celebrated his second NBA championship by season’s end.

On August 8, 2010, Brown inked a two-year extension with Los Angeles worth $4.6 million. Throughout that season, he averaged 8.7 points across roughly 19 minutes per game and posted season-best scores of 21 points twice against both the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls. In postseason play, he contributed an average of seven points per contest before the Lakers were swept by eventual champions—the Dallas Mavericks.

Brown opted out of his contract option for the 2011–12 season on June 30, 2011, thereby entering free agency.

Phoenix Suns (2011–2013)

Following the conclusion of the 2011 NBA lockout, Brown inked a one-year deal with the Phoenix Suns on December 8, 2011. On March 15, 2012, he topped the Suns' scoring with 21 points in a narrow 91–87 triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers. Brown achieved a personal best of 32 points, including five three-pointers, on March 27 despite a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. On April 7, he contributed 24 points to help secure a 125–105 win against his former squad, the Los Angeles Lakers, and two days later, he matched the team-high for rebounds with seven in a victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Brown agreed to a two-year, $7 million contract extension with Phoenix on July 25, 2012. On November 7, he made six consecutive three-point shots in the final quarter to finish with 24 points, leading the Suns to a 117–110 victory against his previous team, the Charlotte Bobcats. Just two days later, Brown scored 22 points—12 coming in the fourth quarter—to help Phoenix rally for a 107–105 win over another former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. This marked his first time scoring at least 20 points in back-to-back games.

On October 25, 2013, Brown was traded alongside Marcin Gortat, Malcolm Lee, and Kendall Marshall to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Emeka Okafor and a first-round draft pick in 2014. Three days later, Brown, Lee, and Marshall were released by the Wizards.

San Antonio Spurs (2014)

Brown joined the San Antonio Spurs on February 1, 2014, signing an initial 10-day contract followed by a second on February 12. After these short-term agreements expired, the Spurs opted not to retain him. That season culminated with San Antonio winning the 2014 NBA Finals, earning their fifth championship in franchise history.

New York Knicks (2014)

On February 27, 2014, Brown signed a 10-day contract with the New York Knicks. He secured a second such contract on March 10 and was subsequently signed for the remainder of that season on March 20. The Knicks waived Brown on July 23, 2014.

Miami Heat (2014)

Brown agreed to terms with the Miami Heat on August 27, 2014. After participating in five games, he was waived by Miami on November 24, 2014.

Wisconsin Herd (2017–2018)

Although selected by the Grand Rapids Drive in the second round of the 2016 NBA Development League Draft on October 30, Brown was waived shortly afterward on November 10. He later joined the roster of the Wisconsin Herd, affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks, on November 16, 2017.

Delaware 87ers (2018)

Brown was traded to the Delaware 87ers on January 26, 2018, making his debut that same day.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 23 || 5 || 8.8 || .378 || .280 || .714 || .9 || .4 || .3 || .1 || 3.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 15 || 4 || 14.5 || .369 || .310 || .609 || 1.2 || 1.1 || .7 || .1 || 7.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Chicago | 6 || 0 || 3.7 || .200 || .000 || .500 || .3 || .0 || .2 || .3 || 1.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte | 30 || 0 || 11.4 || .455 || .286 || .800 || .8 || .9 || .6 || .2 || 4.8 |- | style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"| † | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 18 || 0 || 7.6 || .524 || .667 || .889 || 1.1 || .6 || .2 || .1 || 3.2 |- | style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"| † | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | style="background:#cfecec;"| 82*|| 7 || 20.7 || .427 || .328 || .818 || 2.2 || 1.3 || .7 || .4|| 8.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 82|| 0|| 19.1|| .425|| .349|| .911|| 1.9|| 1.2|| .8|| .2|| 8.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix |59||19||23.7||.420||.362||.808||2.7||1.2||.7||.3||11.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix |59||22||23.8||.420||.277||.784||2.5||1.8||1.0||.3||10.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"|

| style="text-align:left;" | San Antonio
|10||1||10.3||.286||.000||.778||1.3||.5||.1||0||2.3

|-

|style="text-align:left;" |  
|style="text-align:left;" |  New York 
|19 |0 |7.8 |.421 |.000 |.667 |0.8 |0.2 |0.6 |0 |2.1 

|-

|style="text-align:left;" |  
|style="text-align:left;" |  Miami 
|5 |2 |17.8 |.368 |.429 |.667 |0.2 |0.6 |0.8 |0 |4.0 

|- class="sortbottom"

|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career  
|408 |60 |18.0 |.420 |.332 |.807 |1.9 |1.1 |0.7 |0.2 |7.6

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2007 | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 1 || 0 || .0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- | style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"| 2009† | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 21 || 0 || 13.1 || .434 || .480 || .792 || 1.2 || .6 || .5 || .1 || 4.9 |- | style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"| 2010† | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 23 || 0 || 14.1 || .393 || .281 || .714 || 1.3 || .9 || .4 || .3 || 4.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2011 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 10 || 0 || 16.6 || .459 || .280 || .643 || 1.9 || .7 || .6 || .2 || 7.2 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center" colspan="2"| Career | 55 || 0 || 13.9 || .422 || .341 || .727 || 1.3 || .7 || .5 || .2 || 5.2

College

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2003–04 | style="text-align:left;"| Michigan State | 30 || 24 || 22.9 || .451 || .341 || .807 || 2.5 || 1.3 || 1.1 || .0 || 7.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2004–05 | style="text-align:left;"| Michigan State | 33 || 31 || 25.1 || .447 || .330 || .848 || 3.2 || 1.7|| 1.2|| .2|| 10.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2005–06 | style="text-align:left;"| Michigan State | 34|| 34|| 35.2|| .467|| .390|| .830|| 4.4|| 2.7|| 1.5|| .1|| 17.2 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center" colspan="2"| Total | 97||89||28.0||.457||.364||.831||3.4||1.9||1.3||.1||12.2

Music video and film appearances

Brown has been featured in music videos including Toni Braxton's "Yesterday", Monica's "Love All Over Me", and Nelly's "Just a Dream".

He made a cameo as himself in the movie Think Like a Man released in 2012 and appeared as a Knicks player in the film Trainwreck from 2015.

Personal life

Brown is a father to two children: a son named Shannon Christopher Brown and a daughter named Laiyah Shannon Brown, both with singer Monica.

Their relationship began in 2010 after Brown was cast as Monica’s romantic interest in her "Love All Over Me" music video. They became engaged in October of that year and tied the knot privately at their Los Angeles residence on November 22, 2010, with the marriage publicly announced in January of the following year. A second wedding ceremony for close family and friends took place in July 2011.

On March 27, 2019, Monica initiated divorce proceedings against Brown, which were finalized by October of the same year.

Brown's brother, Sterling Brown, competes professionally for KK Partizan in the EuroLeague.

Legal matters

On October 7, 2021, Brown faced indictment in the Southern District of New York due to allegations of defrauding the NBA's health and welfare benefit fund. By April 2023, he admitted guilt to insurance fraud charges and consented to a restitution payment totaling $320,000.

External links

• Michigan State biography