Probably, the fact that his General Manager compared him to Tracy McGrady when he was drafted did not help him. Back then the Milwaukee Bucks were a lottery team. There was a lot of expectation from the team's fanbase to find the player who would lead the team back to success. In addition, the Bucks selected him ahead of Michael Porter in that 2023 draft. All those factors added pressure to the former Oregon Duck.
The press treated the Bucks as Brandon Ingram's team, who had been drafted first overall two years before. However, the franchise always put the team above any individual. While others high draft selections came and went, as Ja Morant and Wendell Carter, Ingram and Brown were always the cornerstone pieces in building a contender. That was always the plan, and controversial moves had to be made to make sure both of them, and the needed complementary pieces, stayed in place (i.e. trading Khris Middleton alongside two first round draft selections). And Brown was also seen as the team's point guard, the position he has been mostly playing since his rookie season until now.
The road was not easy and Brown had to deal with injuries in key moments, one of the most notable missing game seven of the 2027 Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, who eventually won the title. But the continuous improvement, after working hard each summer, has Brown finally taking the lead role in most statistical categories. After 35 games this season, Brown is averaging 20.0 points, 8.1 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 0.5 blocks in 33.8 minutes per game, shooting 44.5 % from the field, 72.9 % from the free throw line and 37.1 % from three-point range, resulting in a 51.3 % in true shooting, a PER of 26.0 and a NET value of 12.4. On defense he has stopped 344 of the 358 drives he has faced (96.1 %) and has allowed 371 points on 441 shots (0.84 points allowed per shot faced). He only turns the ball over 0.022 times per touch and has a 0.12 assist to touch ratio.
Head coach Boris Diaw keeps reminding everyone that this is a team, not highlighting any individual. However, the local media is starting to talk about the transition from the Ingram-led Bucks to the Brown-led Bucks. Either way, both are fantastic two-way players, elite on defense and able to carry a team offensively. However, so far that has not been enough to bring a CSL title to the city of Milwaukee. May Brown's continuous growing change the dynamics? For now, that McGrady comparison is not that far off, specially given the Bucks traditional slow paced offense.
