Alexis Kiah "Lexie" Brown[1] (born October 27, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She previously played for the Chicago Sky, Minnesota Lynx, and Connecticut Sun in the WNBA. Brown was the ninth overall pick by the Sun in the 2018 WNBA draft. She played college basketball at the University of Maryland and Duke University.

Lexie Brown
Brown with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2023
No. 4 – Los Angeles Sparks
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1994-10-27) October 27, 1994 (age 30)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Listed weight162 lb (73 kg)
Career information
High school
College
WNBA draft2018: 1st round, 9th overall pick
Selected by the Connecticut Sun
Playing career2018–present
Career history
20182019Connecticut Sun
2018–2019CMB Cargo Uni Györ
20192020Minnesota Lynx
2021Chicago Sky
2021Charnay
2022–presentLos Angeles Sparks
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Early life

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Brown was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Tammy and Dee Brown. Her father played twelve years in the NBA as a point guard, most notably for the Boston Celtics, with whom he won the 1991 Slam Dunk Contest.[2]

Brown played her freshman season at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Florida, where she helped the team achieve its first-ever undefeated regular season. After transferring to North Gwinnett in Suwanee, Georgia, she led her team to the state semifinals her junior year and the Class 5-A state championship game her senior year.[3] Brown's high school career also featured stints with the A.O.T. AAU team and an appearance in the 2013 McDonald's All-American Game.

College career

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Brown elected to play college basketball at the University of Maryland. Her freshman year, she helped lead the team to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, earning her the nickname "Big Shot Brown,"[4] and was named to the ACC All-Freshmen Team and ACC All-Academic Team. During a breakout sophomore campaign, she averaged 13.3 points per game[5] and received many accolades, including All-Big Ten First Team, All-Big Ten Defensive Team, Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Academic All-Big Ten, and AP Third Team All-American.[6] Maryland again reached the Final Four, losing to the eventual champion UConn Huskies.

Wanting to be closer to home, Brown decided to transfer to Duke University following her sophomore year.[7] After sitting out a season due to the NCAA's transfer rules, she worked her way into the starting lineup and helped the Blue Devils get back into the national spotlight.[8] As a junior, Brown set an ACC record by draining 56 consecutive free throws and was named ACC Player of the Week on January 23, 2017.[9]

Professional career

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Connecticut Sun

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Brown was drafted by the Connecticut Sun as the 9th overall pick in the 2018 WNBA draft. Brown made her debut on May 20 against Las Vegas Aces scoring 5 points in 10 minutes of playing time. She played in 22 games in her rookie season, averaging 1.7 points in 5.6 minutes per game.

After the end of the 2018 WNBA season, Brown signed with CMB Cargo Uni Györ in Hungary's top woman's basketball league.

Minnesota Lynx

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Brown with the Minnesota Lynx in 2019

After the 2019 WNBA draft, the Minnesota Lynx traded 18th pick Natisha Hiedeman to the Connecticut Sun in order to obtain Brown.[10] Brown played a main role off the bench, as one of the main bench scorers. She scored a career-high 21 points on June 8, when the Lynx played the Los Angeles Sparks. She hit a season-high 5 3-pointers in that game, which she also tied two other times that year - July 24 vs. the Washington Mystics and August 20 vs. the Sparks.

Chicago Sky

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After being waived in early 2021 by Minnesota, Brown signed with the Chicago Sky soon after. Chicago would go on to win the championship that year.

Los Angeles Sparks

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On March 30, 2022, Chicago dealt Brown to the Los Angeles Sparks in a sign and trade scenario.

Brown spent the entirety of the 2023 season battling untreated and undiagnosed Crohn's disease.[11]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader
Denotes seasons in which Brown won a WNBA championship

WNBA

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Regular season

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Stats current through end of 2024 season

WNBA regular season statistics[12]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2018 Connecticut 22 0 5.6 .273 .310 .571 0.8 0.5 0.2 0.0 0.5 1.7
2019 Minnesota 33 0 18.3 .402 .385 .789 1.4 1.4 0.9 0.0 1.2 7.6
2020 Minnesota 17 13 22.0 .342 .269 .792 1.9 2.4 1.8 0.0 1.4 6.4
2021 Chicago 17 0 9.5 .263 .242 0.7 1.1 0.4 0.0 0.5 1.6
2022 Los Angeles 34 16 25.0 .441 .398 .667 2.3 2.1 1.0 0.2 0.8 7.1
2023 Los Angeles 12 11 30.3 .486 .415 .875 2.1 2.4 0.9 0.3 1.3 12.4
2024 Los Angeles 16 8 23.7 .321 .304 .889 2.3 3.3 1.1 0.1 1.9 8.1
Career 7 years, 4 teams 151 48 18.9 .389 .357 .805 1.6 1.8 0.9 0.1 1.0 6.3

Playoffs

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WNBA playoff statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2019 Minnesota 1 0 20.0 .222 .167 1.0 3.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 5.0
2021 Chicago 7 0 3.4 .333 .400 1.000 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.1
Career 2 years, 2 teams 8 0 5.5 .267 .273 1.000 0.4 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.1 1.6

College

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NCAA statistics[13]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2013–14 Maryland 34 29 27.4 .427 .367 .774 1.9 4.3 1.4 0.2 2.3 10.1
2014–15 Maryland 36 36 31.8 .414 .345 .830 3.3 4.5 2.2 0.0 2.7 13.3
2015–16 Did not play (NCAA transfer rules)
2016–17 Duke 34 34 33.9 .488 .399 .928 3.7 3.9 2.8 0.0 2.7 18.3
2017–18 Duke 33 33 35.3 .463 .371 .828 4.4 4.4 3.7 '0.2 3.1 19.4
Career 137 132 32.1 .447 .369 .841 3.3 4.3 2.5 0.1 2.7 15.2

References

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  1. ^ "Lexie Brown Bio". GoDuke.com. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  2. ^ Wang, Gene (14 February 2014). "Terps' Lexie Brown escapes shadow of her father, NBA slam dunk legend Dee Brown". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  3. ^ Putnam, Bob (4 April 2015). "Lexie Brown drives Maryland's offense". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  4. ^ Baillargeon, Ryan (24 March 2015). "Maryland women's basketball guard Lexie Brown learns lessons from NBA dad Dee Brown". The Diamondback. Archived from the original on 12 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  5. ^ "NCAA Career Statistics". NCAA. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Lexie Brown bio". Maryland Terrapins Athletics. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  7. ^ Wang, Gene (15 June 2015). "Ex-Terps point guard Lexie Brown tranferring [sic] to Duke". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  8. ^ Hays, Graham (27 January 2017). "Lexie Brown's fresh start in Durham reinvigorates Duke, her passion for the game". ESPN. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Brown Named ACC Player of the Week". GoDuke.com. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Lynx bring in Shepard, Dillard, Bell, trade for Brown". Fox Sports. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Lexie Brown's Battle For Her Health And Basketball". auprosports.com. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  12. ^ "Lexie Brown WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference.
  13. ^ "Lexie Brown College Stats". Sports Reference.
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