Mikel Brown Jr. gave Brooklyn exactly the kind of flashpoint performance that makes a rookie worth watching.
The former Louisville star, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, had already entered the league with plenty of buzz after averaging 18.2 points per game in his lone season with the Cardinals. In his early NBA minutes, he’s been on a restriction, logging about 20 minutes a night. But in his third game, he finally got the kind of run that let him show why the Nets drafted him so high.
Brown’s breakout came in a 125-24 overtime loss to Boston, and even in defeat, he was one of the biggest reasons Brooklyn had a chance. He finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, and the real damage came in a fourth quarter where he stacked big shot after big shot.
He scored 11 of those points in the final period, starting with a deep 3-pointer from well beyond the arc at the 6:47 mark to put Brooklyn ahead 99-97. Less than a minute later, he was back on the other side of the arc, caught the ball in rhythm, and drilled another 3 to push the Nets in front 102-99.
The biggest moments came inside the final minute. Brown attacked the basket and finished with his left hand to tie the game 111-111 with 47 seconds left. Then came the play Nets fans will remember: he caught the ball in the corner and buried the shot at the buzzer in regulation to force overtime.
That kind of late-game poise is exactly why Brooklyn spent the No. 6 pick on him, and it was enough to get Chris Paul’s attention too. Brown’s first game with more than 20 minutes also produced his NBA career high, and this one only added to the case that his upside is as real as advertised.
In Other News...
Louisville Faces A Stanford Offense Built Around Two Rising Threats
Stanfords offense brings Louisville a familiar kind of test: one part volatility, one part danger. Quarterback Davis Warren has had stretches where the passing game clicks and others where it stalls, while the Cardinals will also have to account for running back Micah Ford, who has come on lately and adds another layer to the game plan. Add in a receiving group that can create problems and an offensive line that will determine how much time Warren has to settle in, and Louisville has a real week-of-prep puzzle on its hands.
For the Cardinals, the emphasis has to be on forcing Warren into uncomfortable snaps and making Stanford earn everything. That means getting pressure without losing shape in coverage, because the ball can still get to the right place if Louisville is too aggressive or too passive. The challenge is less about chasing one star than about handling a front that wants to spring Ford and a passing attack that can look dangerous when Warren finds a rhythm. [Read more 🡒]
Seth Trimble Is Giving Louisville Fans Another Reason To Watch Closely
Seth Trimbles arrival at Louisville already gave the Cardinals a new backcourt storyline, and now he has added another layer to it before even getting fully settled in. The guard has been named to the 2027 Jerry West Award Preseason Watch List, a nod from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame that highlights the nations top shooting guards in Division I mens basketball.
Trimble brings plenty of recognition with him after four seasons at North Carolina, where he built a rsum that made him a familiar name well before he landed in Louisville. For the Cardinals, the watch-list selection is another reminder that this transfer could matter well beyond depth and rotation pieces, with Trimble now positioned to be one of the more closely tracked players on the roster this season. [Read more 🡒]
De'Shayne Montgomery Is Forcing A Bigger Louisville Backcourt Conversation
DeShayne Montgomery arrived at Louisville with the kind of rsum that usually signals a player who has had to keep adapting, and that has made him an interesting piece for a Cardinals team looking to sort out its backcourt depth. Entering his senior season after stops at three other schools in four years, Montgomery has already shown enough defensive value and scoring touch to make himself more than just another name in the rotation, especially after his season opener against Kansas.
For Louisville, the appeal is not just what Montgomery can do, but what his presence means for the shape of the guard group around him. He is expected to be a defensive specialist and a secondary scorer off the bench, yet performances like that opener can complicate the tidy plans coaches usually draw up in October. The Cardinals may still view him as depth, but he is giving them reason to think the conversation about who belongs in the backcourt is a little bigger than it looked on paper. [Read more 🡒]