3 worst starters of the OKC Thunder rebuild era
By Rylan Stiles
The OKC Thunder started Charlie Brown in just one contest, but it was glorious.
Unlike Georgios Kalaitakis, who made more starts than Brown, Charlie Brown Jr. still receives NBA opportunities. He most recently played in the NBA Summer League for the New York Knicks. Charlie Brown has hung around in the NBA G League, carving out a role for himself there.
He has logged minutes for four NBA teams, including participating in nine contests for the OKC Thunder during the 2020-21 season. In his one start for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Charlie Brown played 26 minutes, hauled in five rebounds, dished out two assists, and swiped a steal on his way to eight points on ten shot attempts. It was a 57-point loss for the OKC Thunder, where Brown was a -28.
That sort of inefficiency plagued him his entire NBA career. Across his 41 NBA games, Charlie Brown averages two points, a rebound, and half an assist per game while shooting a lowly 28 percent from the floor, 21 percent from three-point land, and 92 percent at the free throw line.
In the NBA G League, Charlie Brown was able to help lift the Delaware Blue Coats to a successful season playing in 51 games, averaging 12 points, two assists, six rebounds, and 1.9 STOCKS per game, all while improving his efficiency to 49 percent from the floor, 32 percent from distance, and 84 percent at the charity stripe.
With the addition of a third two-way contract spot and the fact teams are still giving Charlie Brown Jr. chances in Summer League, the hope has to be for Brown that he can capture a two-way pact this season, his last eligible for such a deal, to impress an organization and land a stable role. If not, carving out a lengthy career in the G League is still an accomplishment and a job that gets better by the day as the NBA begins to boost the resources they pour into the league.