KWAME
BROWN
Kwame Brown was a standout basketball player at Glynn Academy who played 12 seasons in the NBA after becoming the first high-school player ever drafted No. 1 overall.
Brown played in the NBA from 2001 through 2013, starting out with the Washington Wizards who drafted him out of high school. He would play four seasons in Washington before also playing with the Los Angeles Lakers (2005-08), Memphis Grizzlies (2008), Detroit Pistons (2008-10), Charlotte Bobcats (2010-11), Golden State Warriors (2011-12) and Philadelphia 76ers (2012-13).
Brown’s best season was the 2003-04 season with the Wizards when he started 57 of the team’s 74 games and finished the year averaging 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. That season, he scored 30 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in a game against Sacramento.
Brown played in the NBA playoffs four times – once with the Wizards in 2005, twice with the Lakers in 2006 and 2007 and once with the Pistons in 2009. He started all seven games in the 2007 playoffs with the Lakers, averaging 12.9 points and 6.6 boards.
At 6-foot-11 and 240 pounds, Brown was a dominant center for the Red Terrors during his prep career. He finished as the school’s all-time leading rebounder with 1,235 rebounds (11.3 avg. per game) and all-time leading shot blocker with 605 (5.6 per game). Brown also finished as Glynn’s second all-time leading scorer with 1,539 points, coming in just behind all-time leading scorer Willie Fisher who finished with 1,578 points. Brown also left Glynn second all-time in assists with 323 (2.96 per game).
As a senior, Brown averaged just over 20 points, 13 rebounds and almost six blocks as he led the Terrors to the Final Four where they lost to eventual state champion Berkmar. In the semifinal game played in the Macon Coliseum, Brown scored 38 points on 15-of-18 shooting with two three-pointers while also grabbing 16 rebounds and notching five blocks.
Brown was named the Glynn County Player of the Year by the Brunswick News three straight years, becoming the first player ever to win the award three times. He was named the State Player of the Year as a senior by the Atlanta Tip-off Club, earning him the distinction as Mr. Georgia Basketball. He also was voted the All-Classification Player of the Year by the Georgia Sportswriters Association. Brown was named a Sporting News First-Team All-American, Parade All-American and McDonald’s All-American.
Brown committed to the University of Florida and head coach Billy Donovan prior to his junior season with the Terrors and later signed with the Gators before opting for the NBA draft in May 2001 just weeks before graduating from high school. Considered by many to be the top prep player in the country that year, he was ultimately taken No. 1 overall in the NBA’s June draft by the Wizards who were led by team president Michael Jordan and head coach Doug Collins at the time.
After being away from basketball for three years, Brown signed with an agent as he considered a NBA comeback in 2016.
On April 30, 2017, he was the fifth overall pick in the inaugural draft of the BIG3 basketball league which began play in the summer.