Everything you need to know about Brett Brown
The Sixers continual coaching search is finally coming to an end.
San Antonio Spurs assistant Brett Brown will become the next head coach of the Sixers.
Brown, 52, will become the 24th head coach in franchise history, and will take over a team that has fully embraced a rebuilding phase.
While many are relieved that the team has finally selected someone to you know, coach the players, Brown remains relatively unknown to the average NBA fan.
His dexterity at player development was tagged as his calling-card throughout the Sixers search, but Brown brings a lot more than that to the Sixers' bench.
Brown's impressive basketball background began in high school. He attended South Portland High (in Maine) where he played for his father, New England Basketball Hall of Fame coach, Bob Brown.
After learning the game under the hall-of-fame mind of his father, Brown continued his playing career at Boston University under legendary coach Rick Pitino; another hall-of-fame enshrinee. Brown was actually named Boston University's most valuable player in 1981, according to the Inquirer's Keith Pompey.
After his playing days came to an end, he served as a Boston University graduate assistant under John Kuester, who eventually took over the Pistons' head coaching position directly after Michael Curry. Kuester is currently an advanced scout with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Brown began his career as a coach in Australia in the late 1980's when he landed an assistant position in the NBL, Australia's premier basketball league. Brown became the head coach of the North Melbourne Giants in 1993, and took the team to the league title the following year. He was named Coach of the Year the same season.
Brown broke into the NBA in San Antonio's operations department during their 1998-1999 championship season. The Spurs brought Brown on full-time in 2002 as director of player development.
While in this role, Brown worked with both Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker as they developed into all-stars. His impact on their growth is credited as a big reason why he was so high up on the Sixers' wish list. With Nerlens Noel, Michael Carter-Williams, and some lottery picks looming, the Sixers will certainly need to focus on player development.
After a five-season stint in his role as director of player development, Brown was promoted to assistant coach status in San Antonio, where he worked directly beneath another legendary coach in Gregg Popovich, Popovich is routinely mentioned as being one of the league's best current coaches.
In addition to assisting in San Antonio, Brown served as head coach of the Australian Men's National Team from 2009-2012.
The details of the deal still need to be ironed out, but precluding any snags in negotiations, Brown will become the next head coach of the Sixers. Based on Brown's impressive background, this is a good signing for the future of the franchise.