BRUCE BROWN celebrates with the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy last night after helping the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat in five games in the NBA Finals. (Courtesy Photo)
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
DENVER — With the Nuggets down 89-88 and 1:30 left to play in last night’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Denver, Dorchester’s own Bruce Brown crashed the glass on a Jamal Murray jumper. As Aaron Gordon and Jimmy Butler battled for position, Brown anticipated a miss on the weak side, grabbed the rebound and finished strong for what would end up being the game-winning bucket of the Nuggets’ series-clinching Game 5 victory over the Miami Heat – Denver’s first NBA title.
After the Nuggets went up 92-89, Butler missed a 3-pointer and Brown was there again for the rebound, was fouled and calmly knocked down both free throws.
It wasn’t just that Brown had 4 of Denver’s final 6 points in their 5-point victory. The former Wakefield Warrior did what he did all season – what he’s done in 5 NBA seasons; what he did at the University of Miami, Vermont Academy and yes, at Wakefield High for two seasons from 2011-13: compete and out-hustle everyone else on the court.
Brown’s NBA reputation has simplified after this campaign in which he averaged 11.5 points per game in the regular season and 12 in the postseason. He’s just a winner.
Brown’s versatility has always been rooted in defense. In two seasons with both the Detroit Pistons, who drafted him 42nd overall in the 2019 draft and the Brooklyn Nets, Brown was known as a disrupter who could guard 1 through 5.
The Nuggets didn’t just see the defense when they offered Brown a 2-year, 13.2 million dollar contract last summer. They saw a team player, perfectly capable of putting up points too in Denver’s balanced, team-first offense, like he did in Game 3 of the First Round playoffs last year when he scored 26 against the Celtics. They saw a 6th man on an NBA Championship team.
Of course, Wakefield basketball fans, former teammates and longtime coach Brad Simpson knew all this after being around Bruce during his freshman and sophomore years. He was clearly destined for something bigger. But he would get there by being himself.
On the biggest stage in these NBA Finals, Brown made headlines by taking over the 4th quarter of Game 4 in Miami with NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic on the bench with foul trouble. Brown scored 21 points in the win, hitting 3’s, getting to the hoop on fast breaks, finishing through fouls and creating his own shots, willing the Nuggets to a key victory that gave Denver a 3-1 series lead.
Brown’s dominance as a two-way player is finally being fully recognized, something that current WMHS athletic director Brendan Kent knew the first time he saw him while Kent was scouting for Melrose High and Brown had a steal and a coast-to-coast finish to start a game.
That was Brown’s freshman season, when even opposing coaches noticed his will to win over that of his impressive defense, athleticism and basketball IQ.
In an article posted in 2012, opposing coaches had this to say about Brown:
“The first thing that sticks out is his ability to defend. The second thing I like about him is his ability to get all the way to the rim. He has a chance to play at a high level of Division 1 if you were to ask me right now…He really attacks the open floor, and he wants to win…He’s a super athlete, he dunks everything. He is a man among boys, but he also is super competitive. That is one competitive [expletive] kid. He hates to lose.”
That recognition is worldwide now for Brown and it comes at a great time too, as the 26-year-old’s contract has a player option for next season. He has stated he would like to stay in Denver, but either way, if he opts out to become a free agent in the coming weeks, Brown is set for an epic pay raise – one that he has certainly earned.
After celebrating with his teammates, Brown told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe that he would love to bring the Larry O’Brien Trophy to Dorchester this summer, so “young kids see what can happen when you dream.”
That would be fitting for Brown, a proud Bostonian who requests that when starting, the PA announces his hometown rather than his college.
Fitting because Brown, who visits Wakefield quite a bit during the offseason and whenever his teams are in Boston, continues to look out for his community, like the time he gave each student in the Wakefield High METCO program $200 to get whatever they wanted at the Nike store on Newbury Street.
Proud Bostonian; Wakefield Warrior; team player, winner, competitor and elite, two-way NBA guard. Add to that list: Bruce Brown, NBA Champion.