Staying With Pacers Was An Easy Choice For Kobe Brown In Free Agency

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 26: Kobe Brown #24 of the Indiana Pacers brings the shot up tribunal during the crippled against the Charlotte Hornets astatine Gainbridge Fieldhouse connected February 26, 2026 successful Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

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LAS VEGAS – It’s large and crowded successful Cox Pavillion, but you tin spot Kobe Brown’s grin from each angles. His Indiana Pacers are battling the Cleveland Cavaliers successful summertime convention action. And Brown, for the first clip successful his career, isn’t connected a summertime convention roster – he graduated from that.

Instead, he’s sitting courtside arsenic a three-year veteran. Brown is nestled betwixt Obi Toppin and Andrew Nembhard, 2 players that person had their careers return disconnected pinch the Pacers. Brown hopes to beryllium next. And he’s beaming because those are officially his teammates erstwhile again – 1 time earlier, Brown re-signed pinch the franchise connected a two-way contract.

“I decidedly wanted to travel backmost from the jump,” Brown said of his reasoning successful free agency. His profession sewage backmost connected way pinch the Pacers – astir of his important stats roseate during his clip successful Indiana during the 2025-26 season. “It’s bully to beryllium backmost pinch the guys, pinch the program, the staff. I’m happy to beryllium here.”

Brown started his clip successful the NBA pinch the Los Angeles Clippers, wherever he ne'er played much than 9 minutes per game. He seldom earned rotation minutes for LA and scored successful double figures conscionable doubly successful 118 games.

His 2nd clip scoring 10-plus points for Indiana? That came successful conscionable his 4th crippled pinch the team. In his adjacent appearance, he scored 15 – a profession precocious astatine the time. It took him astir 2 weeks pinch the Pacers to produce much statistically than he did pinch the Clippers.

“We were truthful pleasantly amazed astatine a batch of the things he was doing,” Pacers general head Chad Buchahan said of Brown connected the Setting The Pace podcast. “[We] felt for illustration this was a beautiful bully fresh (in) our system. Our coaches spot Kobe.”

Brown continued to execute good arsenic the play progressed. He averaged 9.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per crippled for the franchise while hitting a blistering 43.3% of his three-point shots. Even if his shooting was a flash successful the pan, his activity connected the boards and protect effort were clear, repeatable skills.

Naturally, the Pacers wanted him back. Buchanan admitted the squad had a spot of a roster crunch astatine Brown’s position, truthful giving him a modular woody was likely not a possibility. But a two-way statement made bully sense, and Brown’s practice was comfortable pinch the contract.

Why did Kobe Brown take to enactment pinch the Pacers?

“Standard [contract] is ever the goal,” Brown admitted. “But honestly… thing successful my gut conscionable told maine I needed to travel backmost to Indy. And I really wanted to beryllium here. I loved it the past 2 months I was there.”

Across 3 seasons pinch the Clippers, Brown averaged 8.1 minutes a night. In his 27 outings pinch Indiana, Brown averaged 24.7, complete half of the minutes successful a game. His opportunities grew importantly pinch the Pacers, and he earned the playing clip pinch his beardown play.

That, too, played a portion successful Brown’s determination to return to the bluish and gold. Brown sewage chances and sewage amended – and he still has room to turn since he’s conscionable 26 years aged and only has been successful the NBA for 3 seasons.

“[I] for illustration his versatility,” Pacers caput coach Rick Carlisle said of Brown past season. “Moves his feet well. Has a rugged body. His rebounding is very good. Love the measurement he’s shooting the shot correct now.”

Those traits were awesome factors successful Carlisle giving Brown immoderate clip connected the hardwood. His early occurrence was key, too, and Brown fresh good successful the Pacers system. He touched the shot much often, moved freely, and made decisions pinch confidence.

He will now get much chances to do so. And by being connected a two-way contract, Brown could get improvement opportunities pinch the Pacers G League connection team, the Noblesville Boom, erstwhile the Pacers are patient and don’t person minutes disposable for extent pieces.

“Just coming from my past squad to this team, a full different world and playstyle. And conscionable realizing really overmuch I fresh into the randomness, basically,” Brown said of the Pacers strategy and really it played a domiciled successful free agency. “It’s nosy to play, it’s nosy to see, it’s nosy to beryllium a portion of, and I’m conscionable happy to still beryllium here.”

Brown heard from respective of his teammates conscionable aft re-signing and worked pinch galore of them during his trips to Indianapolis passim the summer. Even though he spent astir one-third of past play pinch the team, Brown has ne'er played pinch teammates Tyrese Haliburton, Kelly Oubre, Johnny Furphy, and Larry Nance. So offseason reps person other worth to him.

And Brown’s caller gym clip has much benefits than conscionable moving pinch immoderate caller teammates. He’s besides trying to refine immoderate of his skills, particularly now that he knows what the Pacers style requires. “Just support getting acquainted pinch the system. I deliberation I took strides. I sewage amended astatine it. The much I played, the much I was astir during the season, that sewage amended and better,” Brown said. He’s been successful Los Angeles to train for overmuch of the offseason. “I’m playing successful it, and I’m increasing successful the system.[The offseason will] beryllium good.”

Brown projects to beryllium a extent portion connected the helping for the Pacers down Aaron Nesmith, Jarace Walker, Ben Sheppard, (when healthy) Furphy, and Oubre. It will require injuries for the fourth-year pro to get minutes. But he’s a productive subordinate for personification signed to a two-way contract, and the Pacers should beryllium thrilled to person him backmost and get much chances to create him successful their system. The Pacers will clasp Brown’s Bird Rights if he stays pinch the franchise done the 2026-27 season, meaning re-signing him adjacent summertime will beryllium easier should he person different coagulated campaign.