Terrell Brown Jr. Does the ‘Other Things’ and Makes G League History in Greensboro

By Sam Perley

Now in the middle of his fourth G League season with 150 games under his belt, Greensboro Swarm point guard Terrell Brown Jr. knows what it’s going to take to make it to the next level. 

“They pay dudes a whole bunch of money to score the ball,” said the 27-year-old Brown. “To get where I pray to get to, it’s the other things, the intangible things, where you come in and get those dudes the ball.”

Lately, the 6’3” Brown has been doing a whole lot of those other things at a historic rate. On Dec. 31, Brown tallied 11 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists for his second career triple-double in 140-108 home win over the Texas Legends. Three days later, on Jan. 3, Brown went for 19 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 15 assists – tied for third most by any G League player this regular season – with just one turnover, as the Swarm beat the Grand Rapids Gold, 125-100.

Not only did Brown become the first Greensboro player to record consecutive triple-doubles, but he’s also now the first in G League history to accomplish this feat while coming off the bench in both games. “For me, it’s just doing whatever it takes to win,” said Brown. “Some days, I might score. Some days, I might have a high assist game. Some days, it’s just defending. I put in the work for countless summers and years and I’ve grown so much this season working with (Head Video Coordinator & Player Development Assistant) Brian Boyle, (Director of Player Development) Markes Royster and the all the coaching staff here.”

Considering how much Brown moved around in college, his two-and-a-half years in Greensboro represent a relatively lengthy amount of time to be in one place. A Seattle native, Brown was a multi-time state champion at Garfield High School, where All-NBA shooting guard Brandon Roy, Tony Wroten, Jaylen Nowell – a former teammate of Brown’s – and Tari Eason played prior to the NBA. After receiving limited Division I interest, Brown landed at nearby Shoreline Community College and averaged 30 points, eight rebounds, four assists and over three steals during the 2017-18 season. Brown was producing in the classroom, as well, taking 60 credits – more than double the normal amount – to graduate from Shoreline in one year. 

Initially a walk-on at Seattle University, Brown went on to lead the Western Athletic Conference in scoring (20.8 points on 42% shooting) and minutes (36.0) his junior season, earning All-WAC honors for the second straight year. From there, Brown transferred to the University of Arizona, where he played alongside future top 35 NBA draft picks Bennedict Mathurin, Dalen Terry and Christian Koloko. After one year in Tucson, Brown returned home and spent his final year of collegiate eligibility at the University of Washington. Despite topping the conference in scoring (21.7 points on 45% shooting), steals (2.2) and minutes (36.1), Brown, a First-Team All-Pac-12 selection, went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Later taken with the seventh pick in the 2022 G League Draft, Brown spent his first G League season playing for the Memphis Hustle. A year later, he signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Charlotte Hornets, so that the Swarm could get his G League rights. Now in his third season in Greensboro, Brown isn’t necessarily the same high-volume scorer he was back in college. Even so, he’s still currently averaging a career-high 13.1 points on 44% shooting, 1.4 3-pointers on 38% shooting (up from 23% last year), 4.2 rebounds, a career-high 6.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 23 overall appearances and eight starts for the 6-3 Swarm. Brown ranks fifth on the franchise’s career scoring leaderboard (1,256 points) and second in assists (560), steals (130) and games played (118). He needs just 28 assists to pass Joe Chealey as the Swarm’s all-time leader (587).

One of the great role players of his generation – more so in the back half of his 19-year NBA career – was combo guard Jason Terry, an assistant at his alma mater Arizona when Brown was there. Also originally from Seattle, Terry, a 1997 NCAA champion and 2011 NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks, is close with Brown’s family and happens to be his godfather.

“Growing up, I remember going out to Dallas and being a ballboy when Jason was playing for the Mavericks,” Brown recalled. “That’s one of my biggest memories of hanging out with him. Then, just soaking up all the knowledge that he has. He’s a veteran player, won a Sixth Man of the Year award (2009), an NBA champion. He won at every level from college to the NBA. Our relationship is different off the court because he is my godfather. He’s amazing.”

Besides providing guidance and advice, Terry, now an assistant for the Utah Jazz, compiled an impressive career that Brown continues to draw inspiration from. A full-time starter for a majority of his first eight years in the league, Terry took on more of a complimentary role by his age-30 season and finished top 3 in the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year voting for five consecutive years from 2008-12. To date, he ranks 11^th in NBA history in both 3-point field goals (2,282) and points scored off the bench (7,523) and then 10^th in games played (1,410).

This past Monday, Jan. 5 was the first day that NBA teams can start signing players to standard 10-day contracts, something Brown has been working tirelessly towards achieving (note: As a non-two-way player or assignee, Brown can sign with any NBA team, not just the Hornets). Landing a coveted spot on an NBA roster isn’t something Brown can ultimately control, which is why he continues to focus on doing the things that put him in this position in the first place.

“I feel like the work you put in is eventually going to show,” said Brown. “It might not show when you want it to show, but as long as you keep doing good, eventually good is going to come to you. You really can’t get too high when you’re high and too low when you’re low. You just have to continue to put the same work in when you’re making shots or missing shots. I stay grounded by staying dedicated and staying disciplined to my work because I know it got me this far. So, I won’t change just because I’m reaching some type of success right now.”