Kwame Brown has had the misfortune of being labeled a “bust” for much of his life.
The No. 1 pick in the 2001 draft actually carved out a nice NBA career. He played for 12 seasons, and in his third, he averaged 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. It’s true that he never became a superstar, but Brown stepped into some tough circumstances.
For example: he had to play with the notoriously rough-around-the-edges Michael Jordan, who came back to the league to play for Washington from 2001-03. Jordan was the G.O.A.T., of course, but if he didn’t like you, your life was not going to be easy.
It’s long been rumored that at one point, Jordan drove Brown to tears.
The following is from a 2003 Sports Illustrated story: “A source told SI that Jordan ritually reduced Brown to tears in front of the team. Brown, whom Jordan took with the first pick in the 2001 draft, showed flashes of brilliance, but his confidence was lacerated by a player who was once his idol.”
Brown was asked about this story during Thursday night’s draft.
“Michael has never brought me to tears,” Brown said. “Did he upset me a lot? Yeah. I mean, he’s a competitor.”
'Michael has never brought me to tears' — Kwame Brown talks about his relationship with MJ pic.twitter.com/j3IbNkHBB0
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 22, 2017
It appears to be an open wound for Brown, who then ripped the media.
“So many people want to make up stories about Michael Jordan. He could have been the greatest guy in the world to me and they still would have made up something,” Brown said. “I watched Richard Sherman talk about the Seahawks locker room, a team that makes the playoffs every year and how they created a story about Russell Wilson not being black enough. So it’s just the media nowadays; they’re going to sell gossip. And it’s sad that it got to this point, but where are the Xs and Os? Where is the numbers at? Everyone says I can’t play, but no one has my numbers when I do play. There’s no outlet that I look at now [where] it’s not about this guy [debating] this guy, this guy talking that loud, this guy’s talking louder. Where are the numbers?”
Brown, along with Ricky Davis, will suit up for the BIG3’s debut Sunday in Brooklyn. Brown will play for the 3 Headed Monsters.
