Kobe Brown Selected by Clippers in First Round of 2023 NBA Draft

Kobe Brown added to his basketball legacy on Thursday night with the Missouri standout being selected No. 30 overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Brown becomes the 48th player in Mizzou history to be selected in the NBA Draft and the 16th standout to hear his named called in the first round – the first Tiger to be drafted since Michael Porter Jr. went 14th overall to the Denver Nuggets in 2018.

A first-team All-SEC selection by both the coaches and the media, Brown led Mizzou with 15.8 points and 6.4 rebounds during the 2022-23 campaign. The senior’s 15.8 points are the most by a Tiger in five seasons, while leading the team in scoring on 16 occasions with nine 20-point games and 24 contests of double-digit points. One of the most versatile players in the country, Brown also led MU in rebounds 19 times and in assists on six occasions.

Named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List for National Player of the Year, Brown was the only player in the country to shoot 55 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range ­– the first SEC player to do so since 1992-93. In fact, by shooting 55.3 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc, Brown is the first Power 6 player to shoot 55 and 45 percent, respectively, since 2010-11.

Overall, the Huntsville, Alabama, native placed seventh in the SEC in scoring, 10th in rebounding and third in field goal percentage, while his 3-point clip was the sixth-best mark in the program’s record book.

Brown also excelled off the court during his senior season. He was the first Tiger to be named SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while becoming just the third student-athlete in program history (and the first in 40 years) to earn Academic All-America accolades.

Brown led Mizzou to a successful season during the 2022-23 campaign. The Tigers finished with 25 victories – their most in 11 seasons – while claiming their first NCAA Tournament victory in 13 years and advancing to the SEC Tournament Semifinals for the first time in school history.