Kwame James Brown was born on March 10, 1982 in Charleston, South Carolina. Kwame Brown is an NBA player who plays power forward and center for the Los Angeles Lakers. Brown was the first overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards, and was the first #1 draft pick to be drafted straight out of high school.

High school

Kwame Brown finished Glynn Academy as the school's all-time leading rebounder (1,235) and shot blocker (605) and his 1,578 points rank him second all-time in scoring, 39 points shy of the school record.Played in and started a school record 102 games.Led Glynn Academy to an 81-21 record from 1997-2000.2001 McDonald's All-American (17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal).Named to the USA Today All-USA Basketball first team.Named to the Parade Magazine All-America High School Boys Basketball First Team.One of five high school seniors named First-Team All-American by The Sporting News.2001 High School Player of the Year in the state of Georgia.Averaged 20.1 points, 13.3 rebounds, 5.8 blocked shots, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 steals as a senior.

NBA Career

Originally signing a letter of intent to play for the University of Florida, he later declared for the 2001 NBA Draft. The Washington Wizards, under team president Michael Jordan, decided to use their first overall pick on him, becoming the first team to ever select a high-school prospect with the first overall pick. Additionally, the expectations upon Brown were increased by the fact that Michael Jordan, acclaimed as the greatest basketball player ever, had chosen him. Following a pre-draft work with the Wizards, it has been reported that Brown told Jordan or then-Wizards coach Doug Collins "if you draft me, you'll never regret it".

Perhaps as a result of hype and high expectations, Brown's rookie season was marred with a lack of maturity as well as criticism from both the media and Jordan. In his rookie year, Brown averaged 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game and was widely known as a draft bust.

However, the Wizards believed in Brown's potential. In his second season as a professional, Brown saw more action in the league. He started 20 out of the 80 games he played and the total minutes he played doubled. Unfortunately, Brown only improved slightly, posting averages of 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. In his third season, Brown continued to improve, posting career highs in both points (10.9) and rebounds (7.4). He also demonstrated his great potential during a game against the Sacramento Kings, during which he registered 30 points and 19 rebounds.

Kwame Brown made history as the first high school player ever selected with the first overall pick in the NBA Draft. Along with other fellow high-schoolers selected in the 2001 NBA Draft, Kwame Brown did not flourish in Kwame Brown's rookie season but appears to be prepared for a break-out second season. Athough young, has a well-developed body and a maturity beyond his years and that with his range of skills should allow him make a mark on the NBA before it is all said and done.

On August 2, 2005, Brown and Laron Profit were traded to the Lakers in exchange for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins.

On December 26th, 2005, he played his first game at the MCI Center (now known as Verizon Center) as a member of the Lakers. The sold out crowd of 20,173 fans loudly booed him upon entering the game and whenever he touched the ball. In the 2nd quarter, Brown was looking the other way when teammate Sasha Vujacic threw a pass his way. The ball bounced off his head and landed out of bounds, which was met with loud cheers from the crowd. Brown called the reception "weak" and used the logic that "they should be cheering that I'm gone." The Wizards won the game 94-91.

When Lakers center Chris Mihm went down with a season-ending ankle injury on March 12, 2006, Brown took over the starting center position. During his stint as a center, he raised his averages from 6.1 points and 6.3 rebounds to 12.3 points and 9.1 rebounds and started every game for the Lakers in the playoffs. Suprisingly, Kwame Brown became a central part of the LA Lakers seven game series with the Phoenix Suns. Although they would end up losing the series, it had appeared that Kwame Brown's potential was beginning to show. The surprising consistency Brown showed while playing center prompted Phil Jackson to make Brown the starting center role in the 2006-2007 season. Brown was injured at the beginning of the season and Mihm was also out with injury for the whole season, so the starting job at center was given to the young Andrew Bynum. After playing the majority of the minutes at center despite the bench role, he was given the starting job in early December. Brown again became injured in the 2007-08 season which allowed Bynum to start again at the center position where he has now flourished.

Memphis Grizzlies On February 1, 2008, Brown was traded along with Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the draft rights to Marc Gasol, the 2008 and 2010 first round draft picks for Pau Gasol and a second round pick in 2010.

Other Kwame Brown Resources:
Google News Kwame Brown
NBA Kwame Brown
NBA
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies

Basketball Tickets
You can purchase NBA Tickets for cheap today. Purchase Lakers tickets, Clippers tickets, Grizzlies tickets as well as Celtics tickets today.

Check out future Basketball Stars:
Kevin Love
Kevin Love has shown a skill level that is absolutely unheard of amongst big men in the college ranks—knocking down NBA 3-pointers with ease, putting the ball on the floor with either hand, using pump-fakes, spin-moves, jump-stops and creating his own shot with fantastic footwork. Kevin Love is rebounding the ball well, throwing beautiful outlet passes, contesting shots around the basket, and even coming up with a few blocks on occasion. UCLA Bruins and Kevin Love news.

O J Mayo
OJ Mayo is one of the most unselfish stars in years. USC Trojans OJ Mayo passes the ball like an advanced player, shoots it deep and there's no way to stop him off the drive in high school. OJ Mayo is a big time competitor who consistently wins, meets challenges and sets the bar for kids in his class. USC Trojans and O J Mayo news.