 Brown in 1981 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1933-09-25)September 25, 1933 (age 91) Hazleton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Listed weight | 160 lb (73 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | St. Mary (Elizabeth, New Jersey) |
| College | Niagara (1951–1955) |
| NBA draft | 1955:undrafted |
| Playing career | 1958–1959 |
| Coaching career | 1955–1987, 2002–2004 |
| Career history | |
| As a player: | |
| 1958–1959 | Rochester Colonels |
| As a coach: | |
| 1955–1956 | St. Mary Academy |
| 196?–196? | Cranford HS |
| 1965-1967 | Fair Lawn HS |
| 1967-1968 | William & Mary (assistant) |
| 1968–1972 | Duke (assistant) |
| 1972–1974 | Milwaukee Bucks (assistant) |
| 1974–1976 | Kentucky Colonels |
| 1976–1981 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 1982–1987 | New York Knicks |
| 2002–2004 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Career coaching record | |
| ABA & NBA | 528–559 (.486) |
Record atBasketball Reference  | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Hubert Jude Brown (born September 25, 1933)[1] is an American former professionalbasketball player, coach, and analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors separated by 26 years.[2] Brown was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.
Following his retirement from coaching, Brown worked as a television analyst forCBS,TNT,ESPN andABC. Brown called his final game on February 9, 2025.
Brown was born on September 25, 1933, inHazleton, Pennsylvania. His family moved toElizabeth, New Jersey, when he was three years old and grew up there, living in a small apartment building without a telephone.[3] Brown, an only child, has said that his father, Charlie, who worked at the shipyards, was a "demanding man."[3]
He graduated fromSt. Mary of the Assumption High School in 1951. While he was in high school, St. Mary won state championships in football, basketball and baseball.[4]
Brown playedcollege basketball and baseball atNiagara University, graduating in 1955 with a degree in education. While at Niagara, Brown was a teammate (and roommate) of formerUtah Jazz coachFrank Layden, as well asLarry Costello and Charlie Hoxie, who would go on to star for the Harlem Globetrotters.[3]
After leaving Niagara, Brown joined theU.S. Army where he joined the Army's basketball team.[5] After being honorably discharged in 1958, Brown briefly played for theRochester Colonels of the Eastern Professional Basketball League (the forerunner to theContinental Basketball Association) before they folded after just eight games. He averaged 13.8 points per game in his brief stint as a pro and was an excellent defender as a player.
Brown also returned to Niagara to earn a master's degree in education as he looked to pursue a coaching career.[5]
Brown's defensive mentality would carry on into his coaching career, which began in 1955 at St. Mary Academy inLittle Falls,[6] New York where he coached both basketball and baseball.
Brown coached atCranford High School inCranford, New Jersey in the 1960s.[7][8][9]
Brown coached atFair Lawn High School inFair Lawn, New Jersey until 1967.[10] He was replaced in that role before the start of the 1967 season byBob Gottlieb.[11]
Brown became an assistant coach for one season at theCollege of William & Mary from 1967 to 1968.[12]
The following season, Brown joinedDuke University as an assistant coach.[13] Brown coached theDuke Blue Devils until 1972.[14]
Brown joined theNBA as an assistant coach for theMilwaukee Bucks in1972 underLarry Costello.[15] Milwaukee made the NBA Finals in 1974 with future Hall of FamersKareem Abdul-Jabbar andOscar Robertson, but fell in seven games to theBoston Celtics, who were led by their own superstars:Dave Cowens,John Havlicek,Jo Jo White and future Bucks coachDon Nelson.[16]
After two seasons in the NBA, Brown was given his first professional head coaching opportunity with theKentucky Colonels of theAmerican Basketball Association. Brown led the Colonels to the1975 ABA Championship. Brown continued as the Colonels' coach until the ABA-NBA merger in 1976 when the Colonels franchise folded, one of two ABA teams that did not join the NBA (theSpirits of St. Louis being the other).[17]
Brown then rejoined the NBA as head coach of theAtlanta Hawks, going 31–51 in his first season with the Hawks. But by the1977–78 season, the Hawks had rebounded into a .500 team, finishing 41–41 and earningCoach of the Year honors for Brown. Two years later, in 1979–80, they won only their second division title since moving to Atlanta. However, after they tumbled to a 31-win season in 1980–81, Brown was fired with just three games remaining in the season.[18]
Brown joined theNew York Knicks in1982, succeeding long-time coachRed Holzman. He stayed with the Knicks until he was fired in1986 after starting the season 4–12. After reaching the playoffs in each of Brown's first two seasons, the Knicks plummeted to 24–58 in1984–85 and 23–59 in1985–86.[19] But there were circumstances that were far beyond Brown's control that hastened the downfall. Star forwardBernard King suffered a devastating knee injury in March 1985 in a game against theKansas City Kings,[20] not fully recovering for two seasons, whilePatrick Ewing, the top overall pick in the1985 NBA draft, missed 32 games in an injury-plagued rookie season. Brown left the Knicks at the beginning of the1986–87 season, succeeded byBob Hill.[21]
Sixteen years removed from his previous NBA coaching job, Brown was again tapped to be a head coach in the NBA2002–03 season byJerry West of theMemphis Grizzlies, who fired coachSidney Lowe after an 0–8 start. The Grizzlies' choice of Brown was quite controversial at the time; Hubie Brown was the oldest coach in the NBA at the age of 69.[22]
Brown finished the season with a 28–46 record with the team, at the time the team's record for wins. However, the team underwent a complete turnaround for the2003–04 season, finishing 50–32 and making theplayoffs for the first time in team history.[19] Brown was again named the NBA's Coach of the Year.
However, by the2004–05 season, there were again concerns about Brown's health and age. Brown was given medical clearance to start the season, but was forced to delegate much work to his assistant coaches, including his son, Brendan Brown. This led to an incident between Brendan Brown andJason Williams when Williams snapped at Brown during the fourth quarter of a game early on in the season.[23] Williams eventually apologized, but the Grizzlies were beginning to struggle during the season, starting 5–7.[19]
Brown then unexpectedly resigned from the Grizzlies onThanksgiving Day, November 25, 2004. In a statement, he cited "unexpected health-related issues... [that were] absolutely nonexistent at the beginning of the season." Details of the specific "health-related issues" were not announced. Shortly afterwardMike Fratello was announced as the new Grizzlies coach, marking the second time in his career that he had succeeded Brown in an NBA head coaching position.[24]
Soon after Brown's unexpected departure, it was reported by Ronald Tillery of the MemphisThe Commercial Appeal that a combination of negative attitudes amongJames Posey, Jason Williams, andBonzi Wells led to his leaving. Brown coached his team with a 10-man rotation, which meant that players got smaller amounts of playing time.[25]
Brown began broadcasting after being fired by the Hawks, working forUSA Network's coverage of the NBA, including playoff games as well as CBS before being hired by the Knicks.[26] During the 1985 NBA playoffs, Brown lent his services to CBS once again while still coaching the Knicks, who were not in the playoffs, teaming up withBrent Musburger.[27] Following his dismissal from the Knicks,CBS hired Brown full-time as a broadcaster in December 1986,[28] and served alongsideVerne Lundquist as the third team during select regular season and playoff games, promoted to the second team the next season. When asked in 1988 how long he would remain involved with the game of basketball, Brown responded "I will stay involved in some capacity until the day Verne Lundquist dies." In1988, CBS named Brown to replaceBilly Cunningham as its lead analyst alongside play-by-play manDick Stockton. Brown remained with CBS until the end of their NBA coverage following the1990 NBA Finals, then worked on the local broadcasts for thePhiladelphia 76ers and theDetroit Pistons before joiningTNT in the early 1990s. Brown continued anchoring TNT's basketball coverage through the2001–02 season, in which he was paired with announcers such asBob Neal,Ron Thulin,Pete Van Wieren, and his old CBS partners Verne Lundquist and Dick Stockton. Along with TNT, Brown had begun work callingSan Antonio Spurs games for the 2002-03 season when he was contacted by Memphis to take the job coaching the Grizzlies, necessitating him having to leave both positions with TNT and the Spurs.[29]
Shortly after his departure from the Grizzlies, Brown signed withABC as its top NBA analyst. Brown worked withAl Michaels andMike Breen on some regular-season and playoff games, including the2005 NBA Finals and2006 NBA Finals, before he was replaced as lead analyst byMark Jackson andJeff Van Gundy. Brown has later called games withMike Tirico until 2016, when Tirico moved toNBC Sports. His later broadcast partners includedMark Jones,Dave Pasch andRyan Ruocco. Brown called his final game, between thePhiladelphia 76ers andMilwaukee Bucks on ABC, on February 9, 2025, accompanied by Breen.[30]
Brown was nominated for a Sports Emmy in 1994 and 1999.[31]
Brown and his late wife of 54 years, Claire, have three daughters – Molly, Virginia, and Julie - and a son, Brendan, an NBA scout and assistant coach who then worked for the New York Knicks as a radio analyst.[34] Claire Brown died on June 7, 2024, at the age of 87. His son Brendan died November 3, 2024, at the age of 54 due to health complications.[35]
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 1974–75 | 84 | 58 | 26 | .690 | 1st in Eastern | 15 | 12 | 3 | .800 | WonABA Finals |
| Kentucky | 1975–76 | 84 | 46 | 38 | .548 | 4th in ABA | 10 | 5 | 5 | .500 | Lost inSemifinals |
| Atlanta | 1976–77 | 82 | 31 | 51 | .378 | 6th in Central | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| Atlanta | 1977–78 | 82 | 41 | 41 | .500 | 4th in Central | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | Lost inFirst Round |
| Atlanta | 1978–79 | 82 | 46 | 36 | .561 | 3rd in Central | 9 | 5 | 4 | .556 | Lost inConf. Semifinals |
| Atlanta | 1979–80 | 82 | 50 | 32 | .610 | 1st in Central | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | Lost inConf. Semifinals |
| Atlanta | 1980–81 | 79 | 31 | 48 | .392 | (fired) | — | — | — | — | — |
| New York | 1982–83 | 82 | 44 | 38 | .537 | 4th in Atlantic | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | Lost inConf. Semifinals |
| New York | 1983–84 | 82 | 47 | 35 | .573 | 3rd in Atlantic | 12 | 6 | 6 | .500 | Lost inConf. Semifinals |
| New York | 1984–85 | 82 | 24 | 58 | .293 | 5th in Atlantic | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| New York | 1985–86 | 82 | 23 | 59 | .280 | 5th in Atlantic | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| New York | 1986–87 | 16 | 4 | 12 | .250 | (fired) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Memphis | 2002–03 | 74 | 28 | 46 | .378 | 6th in Midwest | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| Memphis | 2003–04 | 82 | 50 | 32 | .610 | 4th in Midwest | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 | Lost inFirst Round |
| Memphis | 2004–05 | 12 | 5 | 7 | .417 | (resigned) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 1087 | 528 | 559 | .486 | 63 | 31 | 32 | .492 |
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