Bryce Brown joins Sacramento Kings for NBA Summer League
The top 3-point shooter in Auburn history will get a shot to prove he belongs in the league this summer.
Former Auburn shooting guard Bryce Brown agreed to a deal on Friday morning to play in the NBA Summer League with the Kings.
He'll compete in Sacramento this summer with 2019 NBA rookies, undrafted players and select NBA sophomores for the chance to earn a roster spot on an NBA or G League roster.
The summer-league selection for the Kings comes after Brown worked out for them June 11. Sacramento plays at one of the fastest paces in the league, something Brown should be comfortable with after his time in Bruce Pearl's barraging offense.
"I'd be very accustomed to playing fast." Brown said at his pre-draft workout with the Kings. "It would be a pretty good feel."
Brown set Auburn’s program record for 3-point makes in a career (382) against Arizona on Nov. 21 in the Maui Invitational. He finished his career ranked second in SEC history and 28th in college basketball history in triples.
He connected on 141 total 3-pointers last year, good for second-most in college basketball. Brown closed his career with a 3-point make in 29 straight games, averaging 15.9 points per game last year.
The Georgia native was also stingy with his defense in the back court. Pearl regularly called Brown the best on-ball defender in the nation during Brown’s junior and senior seasons — after Brown became the regular starter at 2-guard.
Brown, who earned his second straight All-SEC nod last year on the second team, was named the SEC Tournament MVP after Auburn captured its first conference tournament title in 34 years.
He then joined Jared Harper on the SEC’s All-NCAA Tournament team after averaging 17 points per game while shooting 45.2 percent from deep during Auburn’s Final Four run.
In Minneapolis against 1-seed Virginia, Brown struggled for most of the night before pulling Auburn out of a 10-point hole late in the game almost single-handedly.
Three of Auburn's four made shots during a 13-0 run came beyond the arc from Brown as the Tigers led in the final seconds before the infamous shooting foul called on Samir Doughty allowed Virginia’s Kyle Guy to win the game at the stripe.
“This won't be the last time Auburn will be in the Final Four,” Brown said after that loss. “I feel like we'll definitely continue to see runs from Auburn just because we'll continue to get good players."
A former 3-star prospect from Stone Mountain, Brown’s other offers to play college ball were from Charlotte, FIU, Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State. He committed to Charlotte in the fall of his senior year before a scholarship opened with Pearl’s squad. Pearl offered, Brown committed, and the rest is history that will be hanging in the Auburn Arena rafters next season.
Brown, Harper and Chuma Okeke, who was drafted in the first round Thursday to Orlando, will attempt to match 1978 as the second draft year in Auburn history to produce three NBA players. That year saw Mike Mitchell go to the Cavaliers with the No. 15 pick, Stan Pietkiewicz to the Buffalo Braves in the seventh round, and Myles Patrick to the Lakers as an undrafted free agent.
