# Sterling Brown (basketball)
**Sterling Brown** (born 1995) is an American professional basketball player, a 6-foot-5-inch (1.96 m), 219-pound guard-forward who played five NBA seasons with the [Milwaukee Bucks](https://www.edgepedia.org/milwaukee-bucks), Houston Rockets, and [Dallas Mavericks](https://www.edgepedia.org/dallas-mavericks) and later played in Europe, including a 2023-24 [EuroLeague](https://www.edgepedia.org/euroleague) season with Alba Berlin.[1](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1628425/traditional) • [2](https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/sterling-brown-1.html) He entered the NBA as a second-round pick in 2017 after a record-setting college career at Southern Methodist University (SMU).[3](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/sterling-brown-2.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1995, USA[1](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1628425/traditional) |
| Physical profile | 6'5" (1.96 m), 219 lb (99 kg); guard-forward[1](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1628425/traditional) |
| Draft | 2017 NBA draft, 2nd round (16th pick, 46th overall), Philadelphia 76ers; rights traded to Milwaukee[3](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/sterling-brown-2.html) • [4](https://www.nba.com/mavs/smu-ex-brown-formally-signs-with-mavericks) |
| NBA career totals | 268 games, 5.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists per game[2](https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/sterling-brown-1.html) |
| Best NBA season | 2020-21 with Houston: career highs of 8.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 51 games (14 starts)[4](https://www.nba.com/mavs/smu-ex-brown-formally-signs-with-mavericks) |
| SMU records | Program-record 109 career wins; second all-time at SMU with a 45.1% career 3-point percentage[5](https://www.nba.com/bucks/release/bucks-acquire-draft-rights-sterling-brown) |
| Junior-season shooting | 60.2% field goals, 53.6% on 3-pointers (then an SMU record), 85.7% free throws in 2015-16[6](https://uhcougars.com/documents/download/2018/6/12/_hou_m_baskbl_2016_17_release__release_20170216aaa_smu.pdf) |
| Europe | Alba Berlin (EuroLeague), 2023-24: 11.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists in 29 games[2](https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/sterling-brown-1.html) |
## Family and path to SMU
Brown grew up in a basketball family. His father played in college, and his older brother, [Shannon Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/shannon-brown), is an NBA veteran; Sterling has said that watching the two of them, and the one-on-one battles with his brother, drew him into the game.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/sterling-brown-nba-draft-2017/) He chose SMU to play for head coach [Larry Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/larry-brown), citing the chance to play for a coach who had reached the top at both the college and professional levels and noting that the pro-style sets SMU ran gave him an edge in preparing for the NBA.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/sterling-brown-nba-draft-2017/)
## College career at SMU
Brown spent all four seasons with the Mustangs and improved each year, finishing his senior season in 2016-17 with career highs of 13.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game while helping SMU return to the NCAA Tournament.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/sterling-brown-nba-draft-2017/) As a freshman in 2013-14 he played 37 games, starting 26, and averaged 4.4 points and 3.8 rebounds.[8](https://gotigersgo.com/documents/download/2015/4/3/release_20150225aaa_smu.pdf)
**Efficiency peak.** As a junior in 2015-16, Brown shot 60.2% from the field (109-of-181, second in the [American Athletic Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-athletic-conference)), 53.6% from 3-point range (30-of-56, first in the AAC and an SMU record), and 85.7% from the free-throw line (54-of-63).[6](https://uhcougars.com/documents/download/2018/6/12/_hou_m_baskbl_2016_17_release__release_20170216aaa_smu.pdf) SMU was barred from the NCAA Tournament that season because of NCAA sanctions, and Brown has described the conference championships SMU won in 2014-15 and 2016-17, each coming the year after a sanction or tournament ban, as his best college memories.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/sterling-brown-nba-draft-2017/)
His senior-year honors included selection to the NABC Division I College All-Star team, the All-American Athletic Conference Second Team, and the AAC All-Tournament Team.[9](https://smumustangs.com/news/2017/6/22/mens-basketball-ojeleye-brown-selected-in-2017-nba-draft.aspx?path=mbball) He left SMU having played in a program-record 109 victories and ranking second in school history with a 45.1% career 3-point percentage.[5](https://www.nba.com/bucks/release/bucks-acquire-draft-rights-sterling-brown) • [9](https://smumustangs.com/news/2017/6/22/mens-basketball-ojeleye-brown-selected-in-2017-nba-draft.aspx?path=mbball)
## NBA career
The [Philadelphia 76ers](https://www.edgepedia.org/philadelphia-76ers) selected Brown with the 46th overall pick in the 2017 draft, and his draft rights were traded to [Milwaukee](https://www.edgepedia.org/milwaukee), where he spent the first three seasons of his career, from 2017 to 2020.[3](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/sterling-brown-2.html) • [4](https://www.nba.com/mavs/smu-ex-brown-formally-signs-with-mavericks) • [10](https://apnews.com/article/f3b0eec886fd21bd61c6ceb3d0191ee4) In Milwaukee he established himself as a rotation wing valued for defense and 3-point shooting.[11](https://www.brewhoop.com/2018/5/12/17181434/three-bs-player-evaluation-sterling-brown-milwaukee-bucks-season-review)
**Houston breakout.** Brown signed with the [Houston Rockets](https://www.edgepedia.org/houston-rockets) for the 2020-21 season and set career highs in points (8.2), rebounds (4.4), and assists (1.4) in 51 games with 14 starts.[4](https://www.nba.com/mavs/smu-ex-brown-formally-signs-with-mavericks) After that season, he was traded, along with [Trey Burke](https://www.edgepedia.org/trey-burke), Marquese Chriss, David Nwaba, and [Boban Marjanović](https://www.edgepedia.org/boban-marjanovic), from the Rockets to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of the deal that sent Christian Wood to Houston, and he later signed a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.[12](https://www.nba.com/mavs/player/1628425/sterling-brown) He formally signed with the Dallas Mavericks for the 2021-22 season.[4](https://www.nba.com/mavs/smu-ex-brown-formally-signs-with-mavericks) Across his first four NBA seasons he averaged 5.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 215 appearances with 26 starts.[4](https://www.nba.com/mavs/smu-ex-brown-formally-signs-with-mavericks) His final NBA totals stand at 268 games with averages of 5.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game.[2](https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/sterling-brown-1.html)
## Europe
Brown joined Alba Berlin of the German Basketball Bundesliga and the EuroLeague in 2023.[10](https://apnews.com/article/f3b0eec886fd21bd61c6ceb3d0191ee4) In the 2023-24 EuroLeague season he played 29 games and averaged 11.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 24.1 minutes per game, shooting 40.2% from the field and 35.7% from 3-point range.[2](https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/sterling-brown-1.html)
## 2018 arrest and settlement
In January 2018, while playing for the Bucks, Brown was arrested by Milwaukee police in a parking-lot encounter that drew wide attention after video was released; he had committed only a parking violation.[10](https://apnews.com/article/f3b0eec886fd21bd61c6ceb3d0191ee4) Under a 2021 settlement, the city paid Brown $750,000 and apologized, and the Milwaukee Police Department acknowledged that the incident escalated in an unnecessary manner despite Brown's calm behavior.[10](https://apnews.com/article/f3b0eec886fd21bd61c6ceb3d0191ee4) Officer Erik Andrade, who was involved in the arrest and later posted racist memes about it on social media, was fired, and a court upheld the firing in 2024; Brown's attorney, Mark Thomsen, said the ruling reaffirmed the police chief's power to dismiss an officer for violating the code of conduct.[10](https://apnews.com/article/f3b0eec886fd21bd61c6ceb3d0191ee4)
## Playing style
Brown's NBA role has been that of a 3-and-D wing, a designation for players whose value rests on 3-point shooting and perimeter defense.[11](https://www.brewhoop.com/2018/5/12/17181434/three-bs-player-evaluation-sterling-brown-milwaukee-bucks-season-review) Before the draft he identified defense as the skill that would earn him minutes, alongside his college 3-point accuracy of 45.1%.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/sterling-brown-nba-draft-2017/) His junior-season shooting line at SMU, 60.2% from the field, 53.6% from three, and 85.7% from the line, is the statistical expression of the efficiency that carried into his professional profile.[6](https://uhcougars.com/documents/download/2018/6/12/_hou_m_baskbl_2016_17_release__release_20170216aaa_smu.pdf)
## References
1. [Sterling Brown, NBA.com stats profile](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1628425/traditional)
2. [Sterling Brown International Stats, Basketball-Reference](https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/sterling-brown-1.html)
3. [Sterling Brown College Stats, Sports-Reference](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/sterling-brown-2.html)
4. [SMU-ex Brown formally signs with Mavericks, Dallas Mavericks](https://www.nba.com/mavs/smu-ex-brown-formally-signs-with-mavericks)
5. [Bucks Acquire Draft Rights to Sterling Brown, Milwaukee Bucks](https://www.nba.com/bucks/release/bucks-acquire-draft-rights-sterling-brown)
6. [SMU 2016-17 game notes (60-50-85 shooting line), University of Houston](https://uhcougars.com/documents/download/2018/6/12/_hou_m_baskbl_2016_17_release__release_20170216aaa_smu.pdf)
7. [Sterling Brown: My Life As An NBA Draft Prospect, CBS Texas](https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/sterling-brown-nba-draft-2017/)
8. [SMU game notes, January 2015, University of Houston](https://gotigersgo.com/documents/download/2015/4/3/release_20150225aaa_smu.pdf)
9. [Ojeleye, Brown Selected In 2017 NBA Draft, SMU Athletics](https://smumustangs.com/news/2017/6/22/mens-basketball-ojeleye-brown-selected-in-2017-nba-draft.aspx?path=mbball)
10. [Court upholds Milwaukee police officer's firing for posting racist memes after Sterling Brown arrest, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/f3b0eec886fd21bd61c6ceb3d0191ee4)
11. [Bucks Season Evaluation – Three Bs: Sterling Brown, Brew Hoop](https://www.brewhoop.com/2018/5/12/17181434/three-bs-player-evaluation-sterling-brown-milwaukee-bucks-season-review)
12. [Sterling Brown News, Updates & Latest Videos, Dallas Mavericks](https://www.nba.com/mavs/player/1628425/sterling-brown)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › Basketball players and coaches (biographies) › NBA players, 2011–2018 › NBA guards, 2011–2018*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license