Disappointing outcome for Gabe Brown during NBA Summer League

Former Michigan State star Gabe Brown saw his first action at this year’s NBA Summer League, and unfortunately it did not go his way.

Brown has played professional basketball for two years since graduating from Michigan State in 2022. He went undrafted directly out of college and failed to make an NBA roster, but was picked up by the Toronto Raptors' G-League affiliate, Raptors 905, where he played the 2022-23 season. From there he hopped overseas to Openjobmetis Varese, an Italian club, where he actually found a lot of success last season.

Brown averaged 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as well as shooting just over 40 percent from 3-point range. This successful season is what earned Brown a Summer League invite with the Miami Heat.

Wednesday night was the third game of the Summer League for the Heat, but Brown failed to play during the first two games. This wasn’t a huge deal since he did join the team pretty late, so there’s really not much to read into there. However, Wednesday night against the Lakers was the first time Brown saw any action, and he actually played 11 minutes which is a good amount of time. However, his performance wasn’t up to the standards he has for himself.

Brown struggled offensively in the Heat’s 80-76 with over the Lakers, scoring zero points on 0-for-6 shooting from the field and 0-for-3 from 3-point range. He did contribute elsewhere by adding two rebounds one assist and a very solid two steals, but that won’t be enough for him to make an NBA roster.

The Heat still have four more games remaining in Summer League, so Brown still has time to turn it on and impress the NBA teams in attendance. But he’s going to have to act fast as he is running out of time.

Next up for Brown and the Heat are the Boston Celtics on July 13. Tyson Walker also has an upcoming game on July 13 with the Phoenix Suns.