Gabe Brown fulfilled a promise to his late father of playing basketball for Michigan State.
The Ypsilanti native added another lifelong goal to his checklist: signing with an NBA team, going to the Oklahoma City Thunder on a partial guaranteed deal after Thursday night’s NBA draft, according to basketball writer Adam Zagoria.
Brown will play for the Thunder’s Summer League team next month in Las Vegas.
“Everybody knows I’m a workhorse, I bleed the game of basketball. I love the game of basketball, I’m in love with the game of basketball,” Brown told the Free Press in May. “I feel like right now, I am striving for something I want to accomplish, and it’s something I’ve been waiting for my entire life.”
Michigan State Spartans forward Gabe Brown (44) scores against Maryland Terrapins guard Eric Ayala (5) during first half action Sunday, Mar. 6, 2022 at the Breslin Center.
Brown, a 6-foot-8, 215-pound swingman, averaged 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 28.9 minutes as a senior at MSU. The 22-year-old Bellevue High grad made 42.8% of his shots, including 38.2% on 3-pointers, and hit 89.4% of his free throws for Tom Izzo’s team this winter. Defensively, he used his long wingspan to clog up passing lanes and finished a team-leading plus-107.
Brown’s teammate, shooting guard Max Christie, went to the Lakers with the 35th overall pick. Marcus Bingham Jr. signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Mavericks, according to reports.
Xavier Tillman and Cassius Winston both went in the 2020 second round, the last time the Spartans had an NBA draft selection before Thursday.
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball’s Gabe Brown signs with OKC Thunder
