Sterling Brown (basketball)

Sterling Brown
Born	(1995-02-10) February 10, 1995 United States
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2017–present
Known for	Playing for Partizan Mozzart Bet, NBA career with Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers

Sterling Damarco Brown (born February 10, 1995) is a professional basketball athlete from the United States currently playing for Partizan Mozzart Bet. He competes in the Basketball League of Serbia (KLS), the ABA League, and the EuroLeague. Brown’s collegiate basketball career took place at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 2013 through 2017, where he earned second-team all-conference recognition in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) during his senior year. In the 2017 NBA draft, he was chosen 46th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers.

High school and college career

Brown is the son of Chris Brown, who previously served as a police officer in Maywood, Illinois. He played basketball at Proviso East High School under coach Donnie Boyce, guiding his team to a state runner-up position in 2012 and reaching the semifinals in 2013. Both defeats came against the Simeon Career Academy, led by Jabari Parker. As a junior, he earned third-team All-state honors from the Chicago Tribune, and as a senior, he was recognized on the Associated Press first-team All-state list. Ranked as Illinois’ sixth-best recruit in the 2013 class by Rivals.com, Brown opted to attend SMU over offers from Miami, Tennessee, and Xavier.

Throughout his years at SMU, Brown encountered several obstacles: missing the NCAA tournament during his freshman year, an early tournament exit in his sophomore season, and an NCAA probation period during his junior year. In his final collegiate season, Brown averaged 13.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, contributing to SMU’s impressive 30–5 record. The team secured both regular-season and Tournament AAC titles alongside teammate Semi Ojeleye. Brown finished his college tenure as SMU’s all-time leader in wins and earned second-team All-AAC honors.

Milwaukee Bucks (2017–2020)

Following college, Brown increased his exposure by competing in the NABC College All-Star game and Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. Viewed as a potential second-round pick in the 2017 NBA draft, he was ultimately selected 46th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers. On July 6, 2017, Milwaukee acquired his draft rights from Philadelphia in exchange for cash considerations. Brown made his NBA debut on October 20, 2017, against the Cleveland Cavaliers, scoring three points in six minutes of play.

On November 3, 2018, Brown was assigned to the Wisconsin Herd where he scored 22 points in his season opener. He earned a starting role for the Bucks on January 20, 2018, tallying 14 points against the Philadelphia 76ers. Later that season, on March 7, he matched a season-high with 15 points facing the Houston Rockets.

On January 26, 2018, Brown was involved in an incident during which he was tased and arrested—a situation subsequently deemed inappropriate by Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales. Brown filed a lawsuit citing racial profiling connected to a parking citation issued at a Walgreens parking lot. The inquiry resulted in disciplinary measures against eight officers, including suspensions and one dismissal. In October 2019, Brown declined a $400,000 settlement offer from Milwaukee City Council—a calculated legal decision under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 that could have exposed him to city legal fees if he lost or recovered less than that amount. Brown indicated that leveraging his status as an NBA player to raise public awareness influenced his refusal. His attorney criticized the settlement attempt as a city strategy to evade acknowledging misconduct. By late 2019, the federal civil rights lawsuit was advancing toward trial.

On March 31, 2019, Brown achieved a career-best performance with 27 points scored, including a crucial layup with just 1.1 seconds remaining in overtime securing victory against the Atlanta Hawks.

Houston Rockets (2020–2021)

Brown inked a deal with the Houston Rockets on November 26, 2020. On April 18, 2021, he suffered significant facial trauma following an incident outside a nightclub in Miami.

Dallas Mavericks (2021–2022)

On August 10, 2021, Brown signed with the Dallas Mavericks, making his first appearance on October 21 by scoring three points in a defeat against the Atlanta Hawks. Subsequently, on June 24, 2022, he was traded back to the Houston Rockets along with Boban Marjanović, Trey Burke, Marquese Chriss, and the draft rights to Wendell Moore Jr., in exchange for Christian Wood.

Later, on September 30, 2022, Brown was included in a trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder alongside David Nwaba, Trey Burke, and Marquese Chriss. The Mavericks received Derrick Favors, Ty Jerome, Maurice Harkless, Théo Maledon, and a future second-round draft pick in return. The Thunder waived Brown on October 2.

Raptors 905 / Los Angeles Lakers (2022–2023)

Brown joined Raptors 905 of the NBA G League on December 17, 2022. He then earned a ten-day contract with the Los Angeles Lakers on January 6, 2023, participating in four games. Upon completion of this contract on January 16, he returned to Raptors 905.

Alba Berlin (2023–2024)

On August 15, 2023, Brown committed to Alba Berlin, a team competing in both the Basketball Bundesliga and the EuroLeague.

Partizan (2024–present)

Brown signed with Partizan Mozzart Bet on August 20, 2024. The club competes in the ABA League, the Basketball League of Serbia (KLS), and the EuroLeague. In his first season with Partizan, he posted career-best averages of 12.4 points per game across 34 EuroLeague contests while shooting at an efficient rate of 52.3%. During the 2024–25 campaign, Partizan captured its eighth ABA League championship as well as its first Serbian League title in over a decade.

EuroLeague

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24 | style="text-align:left;"| Alba Berlin | 29 || 21 || 24.1 || .402 || .357 || .930 || 3.3 || 2.4 || .8 || .2 || 11.2 || 8.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2024–25 | style="text-align:left;"| Partizan | 34 || 30 || 25.8 || .523 || .469 || .929 || 3.0 || 2.1 || .8 || .2 || 12.4 || 11.5 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 63 || 51 || 25.0 || .464 || .411 || .929 || 3.1 || 2.2 || .8 || .2 || 11.9 || 10.2

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 54 || 4 || 14.4 || .400 || .352 || .875 || 2.6 || .5 || .6 || .2 || 4.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 58 || 7 || 17.8 || .465 || .361 || .690 || 3.2 || 1.4 || .4 || .1 || 6.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 52 || 1 || 14.7 || .371 || .324 || .800 || 3.5 || 1.0 || .6 || .1 || 5.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Houston | 51 || 14 || 24.1|| .448|| .423|| .806|| 4.4|| 1.4|| .8|| .2|| 8.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas |49||3||12.8|| .381|| .304|| .933||3.0|| .7|| .3|| .1||3.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers |4||0||6.1|| .000|| .000|| —||2.0|| .5|| .8|| —||0.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career |268||29||16.6|| .419|| .363|| .796||3.3||1.0|| .5|| .2||5.3

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 3 || 0 || 4.2 || .600 || .333 || || .7 || || .3 || || 2.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 11 || 5 || 14.7 || .395 || .333 || .727 || 2.7 || 1.7 || .5 || .3 || 4.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 1 || 0 || 3.6 || .000 || .000 || || 1.0 || || || || 0.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas | 9 || 0 || 2.8 || .300 || .000 || .714 || .9 || .3 || .4 || .2 || 1.2 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 24 || 5 || 8.5 || .389 || .276 || .722 || 1.7 || .9 || .5 || .2 || 2.6

Domestic leagues

Year	Team	League	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2017–18	style="text-align:left;"| Wisconsin Herd	style="text-align:center;"|NBA G League	3	32.7	.421	.294	.857	6.0	2.0	2.0	.3	21.7
2018–19	style="text-align:left;"| Wisconsin Herd	style="text-align:center;"|NBA G League	3	36.5	.471	.333	.500	7.0	4.0	1.7	—	21.7
2022–23	style="text-align:left;" | Raptors 905	style="text-align:center;" |NBA G League	26	32.1	.484	.441	.763	7.0	4.5	1.0	.4	15.5
2023–24	style="text-align:left;" | Alba Berlin	style="text-align:center;" |Basketball Bundesliga	41	23.9	.489	.353	.910	4.0	3.1	.9	.1	14.0
2024–25	style="text-align:left;" | KK Partizan	style="text-align:center;" |ABA League	37	22.7	.536	.479	.885	2.2	2.1	.9	.1	11.8
2013–14	SMU	37	26	19.4	.469	.362	.571	3.8	1.1	.7	.3	4.4
2014–15	SMU	34	17	23.9	.525	.444	.784	4.6	2.1	.9	.2	5.2
2015–16	SMU	30	29	27.2	.602	.536	.857	4.4	2.6	1.1	.4	10.1
2016–17	SMU	35		34		32.7		.459		.449		.791		6.5		3.0		1.4		.5		13.4
Career			136		107		25.7		.504		.451		.770		4.8		2.2		1.0		.4		8.2 2018 Milwaukee police incident On January 26, 2018, Milwaukee police officers approached Brown after he had parked across two designated handicapped spaces in a nearly vacant Walgreens parking lot located at South 27th Street and National Avenue. Following the initial engagement, several additional officers arrived on the scene. Brown was instructed to remove his hands from his hoodie pockets, to which he replied that he was holding items. Subsequently, he was tackled and subjected to a taser deployment, leading to his arrest on charges of resisting arrest. However, these charges were dismissed following an internal investigation. Approximately four months later, the Milwaukee Police Department made public the body camera footage of the encounter, which triggered widespread public criticism and resulted in disciplinary measures against the involved officers for misconduct. Brown characterized the event as an instance of police intimidation succeeded by excessive use of force. On May 4, the Milwaukee Common Council sanctioned a $750,000 settlement with Brown that included an official apology and recognition that the officers had escalated the situation unnecessarily despite Brown’s composed behavior. The agreement also required suspensions and reassignments of officers involved, implementation of retraining programs, revisions to law enforcement tactics, introduction of anti-racist policing policies with enforceable penalties for civil rights violations, and mandated documentation by officers whenever firearms are drawn. Personal life Sterling Brown is the younger sibling of Shannon Brown, who has won two NBA championships.