Kobe Brown reflects on what his draft selection means for Missouri basketball

Kobe Brown developed into a highly productive college player over his four years at Missouri. That work culminated into him becoming the school’s first pick in the NBA Draft since 2018 and just the program’s third in the last decade.

Now, from here, Brown hopes this works wonders for what the Tigers can do on the recruiting trail. In a press conference after going to the LA Clippers with the 30th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, he said that he wants his NBA success story to prove to quality recruits that they can come to Columbia and achieve their goals at Mizzou.

“Hopefully, and I think it will but I don’t like to jinx anything, but, hopefully, it lets players know, high-caliber players know that Mizzou is no slouch at all,” Brown said. “It’s a great place to be. You can fulfill your dreams at Mizzou. Hopefully it brings out the best players in the country, hopefully Mizzou keeps growing. Just becomes a powerhouse like it used to be.”

Brown averaged 10.8 points, six rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 49.2% from the field over his 123 games with the Tigers. That helped take the program, under Cuonzo Martin as well as Dennis Gates, to the NCAA Tournament twice.

Brown’s senior season was the icing on the cake. He averaged career highs in points (15.8), assists (2.5), and steals (1.5) to go along with 6.4 rebounds per game. He also posted his best shooting season by posting averages of 55.3% from the field and a vastly improved 45.5% from three.

All that growth helped him become Missouri’s first selection in the NBA Draft since Michael Porter Jr. went 14th in 2018.

Brown will now head to Hollywood to start his professional career as one of the Clipper’s two rookies. Still, while he doesn’t yet know when it’ll be, he’s already prepared to make his return to Mizzou Arena at some point in the future.

“I’m excited. I’m gonna continue watching throughout the year,” said Brown. “(I’ll) hopefully get back to some games. That’s a long flight from there to LA. But I’m gonna make it if I can. I can’t wait to see what the guys do.”

What NBA Draft experts say about Kobe Brown

The folks over at RotoWire provided the following analysis on Brown as a potential NBA player:

“Brown’s improved shooting efficiency as a senior turned him into an intriguing prospect. He was always good in transition thanks to his athleticism. But he transformed into a three-level scorer during the 2022-23 campaign and showcased a patient, mature mentality in half-court sets. At 6-foot-7, he has the size to guard numerous positions. But his upside is contingent on how his offensive game translates to the NBA.”

They believe Brown won’t see much playing time unless he’s able to carve out a role as a 3-and-D player. Whether he plays a ton his rookie year or not, that’s the mold for Brown to follow. His experience at center was good practice for the pros, because even though he won’t be playing center in the NBA, he’ll be equipped to hold his own as a power forward and should find success as a stretch four at some point during his career.