‘My dream all along’: Troy Brown set to be Las Vegas’ latest NBA first-round pick

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, June 20, 2018 | 2 a.m.

Las Vegas is in the process of cultivating a reputation as a hotbed for basketball prospects, and Troy Brown may be the next local to plant the city’s flag in the NBA. The former Centennial phenom is set to hear his name called during Thursday night’s NBA Draft, and there’s a very good chance he’ll be the third Las Vegan in the last five years to be selected in the first round.

Following in the footsteps of first-rounders Zach Collins (No. 10 overall in 2017) and Shabazz Muhammad (No. 14 overall in 2013), Brown was anointed as the city’s “next future pro” as early as his freshman year of high school. He averaged 22.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists as a senior and was a top-20 prospect the Class of 2017, and the heavy speculation was that Brown was a cinch as a one-and-done player at the college level.

He committed to Oregon as a five-star prospect, and after a productive freshman season with the Ducks (11.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists) he declared for the draft.

Now Brown is on the verge of making a longtime dream come true. At 6-foot-7, he has impressive size for a wing player, and his potential on the defensive end has NBA teams intrigued.

After a recent pre-draft workout that was attended by representatives of all 30 NBA teams, Brown said he has adopted a professional mindset.

“This is my job now,” Brown said. “I didn’t get a ton of shots up in college, it was a busy schedule with time management and all that. Now this is my job, so I’m in here every day working as hard as I can.”

Most mock drafts have Brown projected as a mid-first round pick. CBS Sports and The Sporting News have him going to the Milwaukee Bucks with the No. 17 pick, USA Today has him going No. 18 to the San Antonio Spurs, and NBA.com has him mocked No. 26 to the Philadelphia 76ers.

One NBA front office executive said that Brown safely projects as a player who can do a little bit of everything, but cautioned that he lacks any one standout skill.

“He’s kind of a jack of all trades, master of none,” the executive said. “He’s a good athlete, he can handle the ball, he can defend a little, he’s got some size. But the question you ask is, what is he going to be able to do well in the NBA?”

Despite those concerns, the exec said he would be “shocked” if Brown slid out of the first round.

Brown has put himself through the pre-draft grinder in the months since the end of the college season. He attended the NBA’s official pre-draft combine in Chicago, held an open workout for NBA teams in Las Vegas and has spent the last three weeks traveling to individual workouts.

Brown knows that developing his skill set — especially his shooting — will ultimately determine his draft position. He made just 29.1 percent of his 3-point attempts at Oregon, and he made just 26.1 percent of his unguarded catch-and-shoot jumpers, per Synergy Sports data.

“My biggest thing right now is my jump shot,” Brown said. “That’s what a lot of scouts are saying I need to work on, being able to be consistent from the 3-point line, especially moving back [to NBA distance]. In college I didn’t shoot a great percentage but I feel like I’m getting really good at my 3-point shot now.”

Brown was reportedly not among the 19 players invited to the attend the draft in person, so he won't get the opportunity to walk across the stage and shake the commissioner’s hand when his name is called. He's instead hosting a draft party in his hometown, and whenever he is chosen on Thursday it will still be the culmination of a lifetime of work, and Brown is looking forward to continuing the line of NBA players to come out of Las Vegas.

“It’s been my dream all along,” Brown said. “I’m taking every moment in and enjoying the process, stuff like going to the combine, the workouts, just enjoying every moment because it will go by fast.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.