July 7, 2026, 2:04 p.m. ET
Mikel Brown Jr. debuted with the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, and the rookie earned praise from summer league coach Dutch Gaitley for his performance in the California Classic.
Brown finished with 10 points, four assists and one rebound in a 100-79 win over the Golden State Warriors at the Golden 1 Center. He went 4-for-11 from the field, including 2-for-5 from 3-point range, in 19 minutes, 5 seconds of work.
The sixth overall pick played on a 20-minute restriction as he and the team manage his prior back injury suffered last season at Louisville. He showcased why the Nets were so high on him throughout the predraft process, from his offensive explosion to his court vision.
“He is, obviously, electric,” Gaitley said, via the YES Network. “He showed his ability to get downhill. We got to help him figure out where his reads are, but I’m really impressed with his defense. I think he is giving great effort. … I was really impressed with his ability to compete, defensively.”
Brown sat during the Nets’ first two contests in the California Classic. He was anxious to get back on the court in a competitive setting, saying it was “like a fire being lit” after being forced to watch his team play without him during those games.
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The 6-foot-4 Brown had the opportunity to play with several other roster players in the contest, including Egor Dëmin, Drake Powell and Ben Saraf. In fact, Dëmin assisted Brown on his first basket after finding him following a turnover.
Brown and the Nets now turn their attention to the NBA Summer League, beginning on Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada (6 p.m. EDT, Prime Video). He is excited to get back on the court with his teammates.
“It is something that I watched every single year coming up,” Brown said. “To be able to consider myself playing in it now, I’m going to have a lot of family members out there watching. It is going to be very fun.”