Fellow Dominican Al Horford congratulates Koby Brea on being drafted to the NBA
From one Dominican basketball standout to another, Al Horford wanted to congratulate Kentucky’s own Koby Brea on seeing his NBA dreams become a reality this week.
They put their differences aside as SEC foes — Horford as a two-time national champion with the Florida Gators in 2006 and 2007 and Brea as a one-and-done sharpshooter for the Wildcats — to celebrate their roots. The 6-7 rookie joins a very short list of players from the Dominican Republic still on active NBA rosters with the current Boston Celtic the oldest and the newest Phoenix Sun the youngest.
Horford shared a congratulatory message on social media welcoming Brea into the family, joining fellow Kentucky star Karl-Anthony Towns, Justin Minaya of the Portland Trail Blazers and Lester Quinones of the New Orleans Pelicans as the five Dominican players currently playing in the league.
“Hello Koby, it’s Al Horford. I want to wish you all the luck and all of the best this year,” he told the former Wildcat. “You’ve worked hard to get to this point and this place. Being drafted in the NBA is a privilege and it’s something you only get to experience once in your life. It’s a very special moment for you and for your family, but it’s also the beginning of your professional career.
“You have to take that challenge and do your best to keep getting better every day. I wish you all the best as a Dominican, we’re here rooting for you. All the best to you.”
Brea was selected No. 41 overall by the Suns, joining Devin Booker — Towns’ former teammate in Lexington — in the Phoenix backcourt.
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“I just thought about the beginning and where it all started,” Brea said of the moment he heard his name called. “Being four years old, not knowing where this game is gonna take me, I just knew that I really loved that orange basketball. Knowing now that I’m here, in the NBA, it’s crazy.”
The Suns expect Brea to come in and pick up right where he left off at Kentucky as a truly elite three-point shooter after knocking down 43.5 percent of his attempts last season in Lexington.
“The one thing is he, obviously, he’s proven during his entire career at Dayton and at Kentucky, how good he is shooting the ball,” Suns general manager Brian Gregory said Thursday night. “But every year he’s gotten better and better and added another dimension to the shooting. … He is an NBA three-point shooter.”
Brea will make his NBA Summer League debut in Las Vegas on Friday, July 11 at 9 p.m. ET, live on ESPN — and he’ll have all of the Dominican Republic behind him.
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