Nets Use No. 6 Pick To Draft Mikel Brown

Brown, 20, had a strong freshman season for Louisville in 2025/26, averaging 18.2 points, 4.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 29.2 minutes per game. His shooting line was .410/.344/.844.

Unfortunately, the 6’5″ guard battled back issues for much of the season and was limited to 21 outings, including 19 starts. He didn’t suit up after February 28 and admitted after the season that he kept trying to play through the injury even though his back was “messed up.”

However, that back strain isn’t considered a problem going forward. One front office executive referred to it earlier this month as “a thing of the past” and said that Brown was extremely impressive during the pre-draft process, showing off “star potential” during his workouts.

Brown worked out for the Nets and they were reportedly hoping he would still be on the board when they picked. The Nets had a handful of first-round selections last season but none of them stood out as All-Star level players. Brown provides hope of being that type of talent.

He’ll battle some of the second-year players — Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Ben Saraf and Drake Powell — for playing time. The Nets were the worst shooting team in the league last season  — 44.3 percent — and Brown can help change that.