| Greg Brown III | |
| Position: | Power forward / small forward |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 8 |
| Weight Lbs: | 215 |
| Team: | Free agent |
| Birth Date: | 1 September 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| High School: | Vandegrift (Austin, Texas) |
| College: | Texas (2020–2021) |
| Draft Year: | 2021 |
| Draft Round: | 2 |
| Draft Pick: | 43 |
| Draft Team: | New Orleans Pelicans |
| Career Start: | 2021 |
| Years1: | – |
| Team1: | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Years2: | 2022–2023 |
| Team2: | →Ontario Clippers |
| Years3: | 2023 |
| Team3: | Ontario Clippers |
| Team4: | Dallas Mavericks |
| Years5: | 2023–2024 |
| Team5: | →Texas Legends |
| Highlights: |
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Gregory James Brown III (born September 1, 2001) is an American professional basketball player, who last played for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Texas Legends of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns.
Brown grew up playing basketball under the guidance of his uncle, Roderick Anderson, a former professional basketball player.[1] Brown attended Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas, where he was a four-year varsity basketball starter, in addition to competing in varsity track and field in the high jump. As a freshman, he recorded his first triple-double with 15 points, 14 rebounds and a school-record 18 blocks in a win over Hutto High School.[2] In his freshman season, Brown averaged 17.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game, earning All-Central Texas Newcomer of the Year honors from the Austin American-Statesman.[3]
As a sophomore, Brown averaged 27.4 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game en route to District 25-6A offensive most valuable player (MVP) accolades. He led the district in scoring and rebounding.[4] In his junior season, Brown averaged 30.1 points, 13.5 rebounds and 5.4 blocks per game. He missed 14 games early in the season with a dislocated finger. Brown was named to the All-Central Texas first team for his third straight year.[5] As a senior, he averaged 26.1 points, 13.2 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, collecting District 13-6A MVP, Texas Gatorade Player of the Year and Austin American-Statesman All-Central Texas Player of the Year honors. Brown led Vandegrift to a program-best 33–3 record and its first district title. He was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] [7] [8] [9]
Brown drew the attention of major college basketball programs before high school.[1] In his freshman year, he emerged as one of the best players in the 2020 class and held basketball offers from several schools, including Kansas and Texas.[3] By the end of his high school career, Brown was a consensus five-star recruit and a top-10 player in the 2020 class, according to major recruiting services. He trimmed his offers to Auburn, Kentucky, Memphis, Michigan or Texas, or opt to instead play professionally.[10] On April 24, 2020, he announced his commitment to Texas over Auburn, Memphis, Michigan, Kentucky and a $300,000 offer from the G League.[11]
In his college debut on November 25, 2020, Brown recorded 11 points and 10 rebounds in a 91–55 win against Texas–Rio Grande Valley.[12] On December 20, he posted a career-high 24 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks in a 77–74 win over Oklahoma State.[13] As a freshman, Brown averaged 9.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He earned All-Big 12 honorable mention and was an All-Freshman Team and All-Newcomer Team selection. On May 13, 2021, Brown declared for the 2021 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.[14]
Brown was selected in the second round of the 2021 NBA draft with the 43rd pick by the New Orleans Pelicans. He was then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers[15] for a future second-round draft pick and cash considerations.[16] Brown joined the Trail Blazers for the 2021 NBA Summer League.[17] On August 12, 2021, he signed a 3-year, $4.3 million rookie scale contract with the Trail Blazers.[18] [19] On October 23, Brown made his NBA debut, logging four points and three rebounds in a 134–105 blowout win over the Phoenix Suns.[20] On February 8, 2022, he scored a season-high 15 points, along with eight rebounds, in a 95–113 loss to the Orlando Magic.[21] On March 23, in a 96–133 blowout loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Brown grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds, along with seven points and two blocks.[22]
On February 9, 2023, Brown was waived by the Blazers.[23]
On March 2, 2023, Brown was acquired by the Ontario Clippers.[24]
On August 14, 2023, Brown signed with the Dallas Mavericks[25] and on October 21, his deal was converted into a two-way contract.[26] Brown reached the NBA Finals where the Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics in five games.[27]
|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Portland| 48 || 6 || 13.3 || .426 || .311 || .677 || 2.8 || .7 || .5 || .5 || 4.7|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Portland| 16 || 0 || 5.8 || .393 || .143 || .417 || 1.2 || .2 || .3 || .3 || 1.8|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas| 6 || 0 || 6.6 || .455 || .333 || .444 || 1.5 || .7 || .0 || .7 || 2.5|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 70 || 6 || 11.0 || .424 || .296 || .616 || 2.3 || .6 || .4 || .5 || 3.8
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| style="text-align:left;"| Texas| 26 || 24 || 20.6 || .420 || .330 || .708 || 6.2 || .4 || .6 || 1.0 || 9.3
Brown's father, Greg Brown II, played college football as a safety for Texas before playing in the NFL Europe and the practice squad of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League.[28] Brown's uncle, Roderick Anderson, played college basketball as a point guard for Texas before playing professionally overseas.[1]