Brooklyn Nets rookie guard Mikel Brown Jr. came into the NBA with a sizable amount of hype after what he did during his freshman season at the University of Louisville. Despite dealing with a back injury, Brown still showed plenty of his skillset as time went on, but he took some time to explain what the most underrated part of his game is at this moment.
"I'll probably say my passing. I feel like I was always able to score ever since I started playing this game," Brown said during a recent appearance on the "Nets Pod with Sarah Kustok" podcast. Since the 2026 NBA predraft process began, Brown improved his stock due to how much he was able to show at the Combine in Chicago, but it seems like his passing is something he wants to show more than
anything else.
"Like I was coming up, I was very small. I wasn't the most athletic, wasn't the fastest, wasn't the strongest, but I just found ways to score," Brown continued while speaking about his passing and his overall growth. "Over time, I started playing with better players. So, I started understanding that not only am I creating for myself, now I'm creating for others as well at the point guard position."
Brown, 20, got his first taste of NBA action this summer at the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League and he impressed during his time in Sacramento and Las Vegas. Over the course of four games, Brown averaged 15.0 points, 4.0 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 38.8% from the field and 34.6% from behind the three-point line in 21.7 minutes per contest.
Brown is in the position where if he impresses during training camp in the fall, he could be the starting point guard after Brooklyn selected him with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 draft. Brown still has to compete with players like Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf for the opportunity to be the starting point guard, but if he is able to improve his passing to go with his scoring, he's well on his way to being a key contributor for the Nets.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Mikel Brown Jr. explains most underrated part of his game
