Fred Brown (basketball) facts for kids
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 7, 1948 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| High school | Lincoln (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 182 lb (83 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College |
|
| NBA Draft | 1971 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall |
| Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics | |
| Pro career | 1971–1984 |
| Career history | |
| 1971–1984 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 14,018 (14.6 ppg) |
| Assists | 3,160 (3.3 apg) |
| Steals | 1,149 (1.4 spg) |
Fred Brown (born August 7, 1948) is a former American professional basketball player. People often called him "Downtown Freddie Brown" because of his amazing long-distance shots. He played as a guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Fred played college basketball for the Iowa Hawkeyes. After college, he spent his entire 13-season NBA career (from 1971 to 1984) with the Seattle SuperSonics. He was known for his accurate shooting from far away. Fred was chosen to be an NBA All-Star in 1976. He scored a total of 14,018 points during his career.
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Early Life and College Basketball
Fred Brown grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He went to Lincoln High School and graduated in 1967. While in high school, he earned the nickname "Downtown Freddie" Brown. This was because he was so good at shooting from far away.
He led his high school team to win two state championships. Fred was also named an all-state player twice. He was the captain of the 1967 team. He also played football and baseball in high school.
After high school, Fred played college basketball at the University of Iowa. In his final year, 1971, he averaged 27.6 points per game. This means he scored a lot of points in each game! After college, he was picked by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1971 NBA draft. He was the 6th player chosen overall.
Fred Brown's NBA Career
Fred's career in the NBA started slowly. In his first year, he played in 33 games and averaged only 4.2 points per game. He was playing behind two experienced guards, Lenny Wilkens and Dick Snyder.
Things changed when Lenny Wilkens was traded in 1972. Fred started to play more. His scoring average went up to 13.5 points per game. The next season, it increased even more to 16.5 points per game.
When Dick Snyder was traded in 1974, Fred's scoring jumped again. He averaged 21.0 points per game in the 1974–75 season. He was also one of the top players in the league for steals. In the 1975–76 season, Fred had an amazing year. He was chosen as an All-Star. He finished fifth in the NBA for both scoring and free throw percentage.
Becoming "Instant Offense"
Fred continued to be a starter for the SuperSonics. But in the 1977–78 season, the team got a new coach, Lenny Wilkens. The coach decided to change the starting lineup. He put new player Gus Williams and second-year guard Dennis Johnson in the starting spots.
Fred Brown then came off the bench as a substitute. Coach Wilkens gave him a new nickname: "Instant Offense." This meant that when Fred came into the game, he could quickly score points. The SuperSonics did very well with this new strategy. They reached the NBA Finals that season and the next. They even won the NBA championship in the 1978–79 season!
Fred was the captain of the SuperSonics team that won the championship in 1979. He was also very good at shooting free throws. In the 1979–80 season, he led the NBA in three-point shooting percentage. This was the first season the NBA used the three-point line.
Fred Brown's Legacy
When Fred Brown stopped playing basketball in 1984, he held many records for the SuperSonics team. He was the team's all-time leader in:
- Games played (963 games)
- Points scored (14,018 points)
- Field goals (6,006 shots made from the field)
- Free throws (1,896 shots made from the free throw line)
Fred still holds the team records for:
- Most points in a regular season game (58 points)
- Most points in a playoff game (45 points, shared with Ray Allen)
- Most steals in a game (10 steals, shared with Gus Williams)
To honor his amazing career, the SuperSonics retired Fred Brown's jersey number 32 on November 6, 1986. This means no other player on the team can wear that number.
Fred Brown still lives in the Seattle area today. He is one of the former players who wants to bring NBA basketball back to Seattle. The SuperSonics team moved to Oklahoma City in 2008.
NBA Career Statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971–72 | Seattle | 33 | 10.9 | .328 | – | .759 | 1.1 | 1.8 | – | – | 4.2 | |
| 1972–73 | Seattle | 79 | 29.4 | .455 | – | .818 | 4.0 | 5.5 | – | – | 13.5 | |
| 1973–74 | Seattle | 82 | 30.5 | .471 | – | .863 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 16.5 | |
| 1974–75 | Seattle | 81 | 33.0 | .480 | – | .831 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 21.0 | |
| 1975–76 | Seattle | 76 | 33.1 | .488 | – | .869 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 23.1 | |
| 1976–77 | Seattle | 72 | 29.1 | .479 | – | .884 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 17.2 | |
| 1977–78 | Seattle | 72 | 27.3 | .488 | – | .898 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 16.6 | |
| 1978–79† | Seattle | 77 | 25.5 | .469 | – | .888 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 14.0 | |
| 1979–80 | Seattle | 80 | 21.3 | .479 | .443* | .837 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 12.0 | |
| 1980–81 | Seattle | 78 | 25.5 | .488 | .359 | .832 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 15.5 | |
| 1981–82 | Seattle | 82 | 2 | 21.8 | .455 | .325 | .860 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 11.2 |
| 1982–83 | Seattle | 80 | 1 | 17.9 | .520 | .438 | .806 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 10.2 |
| 1983–84 | Seattle | 71 | 1 | 15.9 | .510 | .265 | .895 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 8.5 |
| Career | 963 | 25.4 | .478 | .373 | .858 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 14.6 | ||
| All-Star | 1 | 0 | 24.0 | .538 | – | – | 0.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Seattle | 8 | 30.0 | .496 | – | .844 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 0.1 | 20.6 | |
| 1976 | Seattle | 6 | 39.3 | .511 | – | .795 | 4.7 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 0.0 | 28.5* | |
| 1978 | Seattle | 22 | 26.1 | .449 | – | .833 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 17.3 | |
| 1979† | Seattle | 17 | 15.3 | .451 | – | .824 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 8.4 | |
| 1980 | Seattle | 15 | 20.9 | .440 | .294 | .857 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 12.5 | |
| 1982 | Seattle | 8 | 19.8 | .483 | .400 | .700 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 11.9 | |
| 1983 | Seattle | 2 | 15.0 | .222 | – | 1.000 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 3.0 | |
| 1984 | Seattle | 5 | 17.6 | .426 | .333 | .727 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 9.8 | |
| Career | 83 | 22.9 | .461 | .310 | .819 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 14.4 | ||
More About Fred Brown
- List of NBA single-game steals leaders
- List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise
See also
In Spanish: Fred Brown para niños
