Nets' Mikel Brown Jr. Garners Ultimate Praise From Three-Time All-NBA Guard

One consistent theme from Brown is that he wants to be a genuine student of the game.

Jun 23, 2026; New York, NY, USA; Mikel Brown Jr. poses for photos on the red carpet before the 2026 NBA draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Brooklyn Nets have been prioritizing character as they navigate this long, arduous rebuild.

One of their most recent draft picks, Mikel Brown Jr., checks a lot of Nets GM Sean Marks and coach Jordi Fernández's boxes from a character standpoint, but it's clear he has a ton of intangibles that could help him become a star at the next level.

Brown got the ultimate endorsement from Donovan Mitchell, who also attended Louisville, in a recent conversation on Cousins with Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady.

"What I love about Mikel was like there's not many high school kids that pay attention to the details," Mitchell said. "I'm having conversations with [Mikel] like I'm talking to James Harden. He's asking about the low man. He's asking about strongside help. He's asking about gap help. He's asking about pickups.

"I'm sitting here like a lot of kids in high school do it, but they don't know what they're doing. That's one thing I really respected about him. And he was like, 'Man, I want to I want to I just want to work. I just want to work.' And even when he got to Louisville and he obviously got paid a lot of money and all like the process mentally, the phone calls never changed. It was always like I want to be the best I can possibly be.

"He's phenomenal. He's going to do amazing things in Brooklyn and Nets fans should be really, really, really excited because they got one in him."

One consistent theme from Brown is that he wants to be a genuine student of the game and learn from some of the best players to ever handle the floor general duties at the NBA level, past and present.

“I honestly don’t watch one person because I want to be the best version of myself,” Brown said. “I really like take pieces of everybody else’s game. I used to watch; I still do watch Steve Nash, [Rajon] Rondo, Chris Paul. Then nowadays, you got [Jalen] Brunson, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], Tyrese Maxey, Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell, Dame [Lillard], and like everybody. I watch every single guard, even the great defensive guards like Davion Mitchell, Jrue Holiday, Cason Wallace, and how they guard. I literally study from everybody on the court just to try to pick up the really good tendencies that they have and try to implement into my game.”