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For the Nets, Wednesday was finally MBJ Day. And the rookie didn’t disappoint.
Mikel Brown Jr. — the Nets’ highest-drafted player in 16 years, and the linchpin of their rebuild — finally made his delayed debut, and it was a solid one.
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After having missed the first three games of the preseason because of an ankle injury, Brown was under a minutes restriction in the Nets’ 144-128 preseason-finale loss to the Heat in Miami.
He came off the bench with 15 points in 18 minutes, 1 second, getting stronger as the game drew on .
Mikel Brown, who scored 15 points, drives past Ryan Conwell during the Nets’ 144-128 preseason loss to the Heat on Oct. 14, 2026 in Miami. NBAE via Getty Images
Brown shot 4-for-7 overall and 2-for-5 from deep. The young point guard added three rebounds, two assists, two steals and showed athletic downhill juice getting into the lane and going a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line.
“Just his pace and how he moves out there, he looked great,” Nets coach Jordi Fernández said. “And it’s just the first few minutes, so he’s going to continue to get better and build from there. I love his communication, how engaged he was with his teammates. I thought it was a very well-played 18 minutes for him.”
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Two years of tanking garnered the Nets guard Egor Dëmin first last year and now Brown.
The sixth overall pick had competed in summer league, but Brown rolled his left ankle three weeks ago in camp. After missing the first three preseason games, Brown finally got his shot.
He had 10 points and two steals in the second half, growing into the game.
“Yeah, I feel amazing,” Brown, 20, told The Post. “Very exciting, because I’ve been waiting and itching to play for the longest. So I’m glad to see all the work paying off and just continuing to stay on it and remain healthy.
“It’s very difficult, because you’re watching your teammates playing. You’re like ‘I want to be out there. I wanna be playing with them,’ ” Brown said. “So, to be able to finally [scratch] that itch and to be able to go out there and do what I do best, it means the world to me.”
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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nets-top-2026-draft-pick-025248100.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-15 02:52:00
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