Moses Shirief-Lamar Brown (born October 13, 1999) is an American professionalbasketball player for theWestchester Knicks of theNBA G League. A 7-foot-2-inch (2.18 m)center, Brown was named aMcDonald's All-American as a high school senior in 2018, and in his onlycollegiate year playing for theUCLA Bruins, he was voted to the all-freshman team in thePac-12 Conference. After goingundrafted in the2019 NBA draft, Brown spent his rookie season on atwo-way contract with thePortland Trail Blazers. He has also played for theOklahoma City Thunder,Cleveland Cavaliers,Los Angeles Clippers,Brooklyn Nets,Indiana Pacers, andDallas Mavericks.
Brown was born inNew York City to Malcolm Brown and Wanda Williams.[1] His father Malcolm was a 6-foot-7-inch (2.01 m) center injunior college.[2] Brown attendedArchbishop Molloy High School inQueens, arriving with limited fanfare as a 6-foot-8-inch (2.03 m) freshman. He was promoted tovarsity in his second year, and flourished after growing 6 inches (15 cm) and 100 pounds (45 kg). In his junior year, he led Molloy to theCatholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) finals, where the Stanners lost 64–62 in an upset byCardinal Hayes.[3]
As a senior, Brown and junior guardCole Anthony, son of formerNBA first-rounddraft pickGreg Anthony, formed one of the top duos in all of high school basketball, as well as in Molloy's history.[4][5] They led the school to the CHSAA's semifinals.[6] Brown was voted the league'smost valuable player (MVP).[7] He was named aMcDonald's All-American, becoming the school's first player to garner the honor sinceKenny Anderson in 1989.[8] Brown earned MVP honors in theBallislife All-American Game.[9]
Brown chose to play forUCLA overKentucky,Maryland andFlorida State.[10] Rated a five-star prospect, he was the top newcomer in the Bruinsrecruiting class for2018–19 that ranked in the top-10 nationally and also includedShareef O'Neal, son of Hall of FamerShaquille O'Neal.[11][12] Brown provided the Bruins with a replacement atcenter for the graduatedThomas Welsh. Although he stood 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m), there was concern that Brown was underweight at 235 pounds (107 kg).[11] UCLA coachSteve Alford believed that he might still be growing and had "his best basketball ahead of him."[13]
Brown was inconsistent as a freshman, dominating some games while being a nonfactor in others.[14] In the season opener, he scored 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting, including fiveslam dunks, and had 17rebounds in a 96–71 win overPurdue Fort Wayne.[15] He was the first UCLA player to have 19 points and 17 rebounds in his college debut since Lew Alcindor, known later asKareem Abdul-Jabbar.[a] On November 16, 2018, Brown had 23 points and 14 rebounds in a 95–58 win overSaint Francis to become the first UCLA freshman to record adouble-double in his first three games. He nearly had atriple-double with eightblocks in 29 minutes, having left the game for good with around six minutes remaining.[16][17] After facing smaller post players from small-program schools, Brown struggled offensively againstNick Ward of No. 11Michigan State with only five points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in an 87–67 loss to the Spartans in theLas Vegas Invitational.[18] In the consolation game, UCLA dropped its second straight contest to a top-15 team, losing to No. 7North Carolina as Brown played just eight minutes before fouling out.[19] On December 2, he had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in an 82–58 win overLoyola Marymount. It was his first double-double since the third game of the season, and it came in his first matchup against a fellow 7-footer, the Lions' 7-foot-3-inch (2.21 m) Mattias Markusson.[20][21] On January 26, 2019, Brown snapped out of a two-week slump with 11 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks to help the Bruins end a three-game losing streak in a 90–69 win overArizona.[22] He missed the regular season finale againstUtah due to an unspecified violation of the school's student-athlete code of conduct.[14]
Brown finished the season averaging 9.7 points and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds, and ranked fourth in thePac-12 Conference with 1.9 blocks per game.[23] He was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and was an honorable mention for the conference's all-defensive team.[24] After the season, hedeclared for the NBA draft.[25]
Brown wentundrafted in the2019 NBA draft.[26] He joined theHouston Rockets for the2019 NBA Summer League,[27] playing briefly in one game.[28]
In September 2019, Brown signed a training camp contract with thePortland Trail Blazers.[29] He played in all five preseason games, averaging 5.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 6.9 minutes. Afterwards, the Trail Blazers converted his deal into atwo-way contract.[30] On October 27, they assigned him to theTexas Legends of theNBA G League.[31] He was transferred back to Portland on November 9 amid multiple injuries to their frontcourt, including centersPau Gasol andJusuf Nurkić.[32] Brown was sent to the G League on January 26, 2020.[33] On February 29, Brown posted a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds for Texas in a win over theNorthern Arizona Suns.[34][35] He appeared in nine total games for Portland, while playing in 30 for Texas and averaging 14.4 points on a team-high 64.1field goal percentage in 19.4 minutes with team-highs of 7.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.[36]
On December 9, 2020, Brown signed a two-way contract with theOklahoma City Thunder.[36] He played in the G League with theOklahoma City Blue. For the week ending February 23, 2021, he was voted the G League Player of the Week after leading the Blue to a 5–0 record while averaging 19.8 points, 15.0 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.3steals per game.[37] He was named to theAll-NBA G League First Team after season averages of 18.5 points, 13.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 26.4 minutes per game.[37][38] He was also placed on the NBA G League All-Defensive Team.[37]
On March 14, Brown made his first career start for the Thunder, replacing a restingAl Horford in a game against theMemphis Grizzlies.[39] In his second consecutive start on March 16 against theChicago Bulls, he had 20 points and 16 rebounds for his first career double-double, which he already notched by halftime with 14 points and 10 rebounds. It was his fourth straight game setting a career high in points, which set a Thunder team record. He also had five blocks to become just the second player in team history to record 20+ points, 15+ rebounds and 5+ blocks in a game.[40][41] On March 27, Oklahoma City announced that Horford would sit out the rest of the season as the team prioritized developing its younger players.[42] That evening, Brown had career-highs of 21 points and 23 rebounds in a loss to theBoston Celtics. The rebounds tied a team record set bySteven Adams in 2018, and his 19 rebounds by halftime set a team record for rebounds in a half. Brown had the second-fastest double-double in Thunder history (8 minutes, 11 seconds).[43][44] The following day, the Thunder announced that they had signed Brown to a multi-year, standard NBA contract.[43][45] He had been averaging 12.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 27.7 minutes per game since returning from the G League.[46] In the season finale against theLos Angeles Clippers, he had career-highs of 24 points and seven blocks, while also adding 18 rebounds.[47] He ended the season with averages of 8.6 points and 8.9 rebounds.[48]
On June 18, 2021, Brown was traded to theBoston Celtics along withAl Horford and a 2025 second round pick in exchange forKemba Walker, the 16th pick of the2021 NBA draft, and a 2025 second-rounder.[49] On July 31, 2021, Brown was traded to theDallas Mavericks in exchange forJosh Richardson.[50] Dallas guaranteed his contract, but he did not develop into the player they expected.[51] On February 10, 2022, he was waived by the Mavericks, freeing up a roster spot for them to land the players acquired in a trade that sentKristaps Porziņģis to theWashington Wizards.[51][52]
On March 10, 2022, theCleveland Cavaliers announced that they had signed Brown to a 10-day contract,[53] following an injury sustained byJarrett Allen.[54] He played in four games before re-signing with the Cavaliers on a second 10-day contract on March 21.[55] On March 31, he signed atwo-way contract with the Cavaliers[56] and on April 10, they converted it into a standard contract.[57]
In July 2022, Brown signed a training camp contract with theLos Angeles Clippers,[58] which was later converted to a two-way contract withtheir Ontario G League affiliate.[59] On February 17, 2023, he was waived by the Clippers.[60] He had been active for 50 NBA games, the limit for a two-way player, and the Clippers would have needed to sign him to an end-of-season contract to retain him. Brown appeared in 34 games for the Clippers and made one start, averaging 4.6 points and 4.1 rebounds while making 63.5% of his field goals.[61][62]
On March 8, 2023, Brown signed a two-way contract with theNew York Knicks.[63] He was waived four days later on March 12, having only played in one game for their G League affiliate, theWestchester Knicks.[64]
On March 17, 2023, Brown was signed to a 10-day contract by theBrooklyn Nets.[65] On March 28, he was re-signed to a second 10-day contract.[66]
On August 22, 2023, Brown signed again with thePortland Trail Blazers.[67]
On October 9, 2024, Brown signed with theNew York Knicks,[68] but was waived the next day.[69] On October 28, he joined theWestchester Knicks.[70]
On November 20, 2024, Brown signed with theIndiana Pacers,[71] but was waived on December 9.[72]
On December 15, 2024, Brown returned to theWestchester Knicks for a third stint.[73]
On February 20, 2025, Brown signed a 10-day contract with theDallas Mavericks.[74] Following the expiration of the contract on March 2, 2025, he returned to Westchester.
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | Portland | 9 | 0 | 3.6 | .400 | — | .375 | 1.6 | .1 | .1 | .1 | 1.2 |
| 2020–21 | Oklahoma City | 43 | 32 | 21.4 | .545 | — | .619 | 8.9 | .2 | .7 | 1.1 | 8.6 |
| 2021–22 | Dallas | 26 | 1 | 6.5 | .540 | — | .628 | 2.3 | .0 | .1 | .3 | 3.1 |
| Cleveland | 14 | 5 | 12.5 | .638 | — | .552 | 5.3 | .0 | .3 | .5 | 6.4 | |
| 2022–23 | L.A. Clippers | 34 | 1 | 8.5 | .635 | — | .458 | 4.1 | .1 | .1 | .4 | 4.6 |
| Brooklyn | 2 | 0 | 3.2 | — | — | — | .0 | .0 | .5 | .0 | .0 | |
| 2023–24 | Portland | 22 | 5 | 9.1 | .508 | — | .290 | 3.9 | .3 | .2 | .3 | 3.4 |
| 2024–25 | Indiana | 9 | 0 | 5.1 | .650 | — | .600 | 1.4 | .0 | .2 | .1 | 3.2 |
| Dallas | 4 | 2 | 18.2 | .724 | — | .833 | 7.8 | .5 | 1.0 | .8 | 11.8 | |
| Career | 163 | 46 | 11.7 | .574 | — | .544 | 4.9 | .2 | .3 | .5 | 5.3 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | UCLA | 32 | 31 | 23.4 | .607 | — | .352 | 8.3 | .3 | .6 | 1.9 | 9.7 |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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