# Roger Brown (basketball, born 1942)

Roger William Brown (May 22, 1942 – March 4, 1997) was an American professional basketball player and councilman. A unanimous ABA All-Time Team selection, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.

## High school

A 6'5" (1.96 m) forward/guard, Brown starred at Brooklyn's George W. Wingate High School.

## College career

Brown signed to play for the University of Dayton in 1960, but he was banned from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) when it was revealed that while still in high school and along with fellow Brooklyn star Connie Hawkins, he had been introduced to a gambler, Jack Molinas, who was involved in illegal point shaving. Brown was never accused of point shaving and his only crime was associating with Molinas.

## Professional career

With the NCAA and NBA ban in place, he continued to play basketball in Dayton's amateur leagues, and in 1967 signed with the American Basketball Association (ABA)'s Indiana Pacers. He was the first player the Pacers organization signed when they were formed, as general manager Mike Storen was told by Oscar Robertson that Brown, alongside Connie Hawkins, were the "two best players in America not in the NBA". At that time, Brown was working at General Motors and playing AAU basketball and had initial doubts about leaving the job for the new league. He was later convinced about the league's viability and signed for $17,000 and got help in finding his wife a job in Indianapolis along with use of a car for a year.
Over his eight-year (1967–1975) ABA career, spent with the Pacers, Memphis Sounds, and Utah Stars, Brown scored 10,498 points and appeared in four All-Star games.
Brown particularly enjoyed taking the big shot, noting in Loose Balls that the "ABA 3-point play was made for me". Ironically, he stated he played with terrible eyesight, as he could not actually see the rim when taking a jump shot, merely just seeing orange on the backboard (this worked just as well when playing in arenas with less lighting as he was used to playing in New York playgrounds where all he could see was the outline of the rim). One nickname he earned was "The Man with a Thousand Moves".
On March 11, 1969, Brown set a Pacers franchise record with 46 points scored in a single game, during a win over the New York Nets. That postseason, during the 1969 ABA Finals, Brown averaged 25.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists a game, in a five-game series loss to Warren Jabali and the Oakland Oaks. The following postseason, during the 1970 ABA Playoffs, Brown was named Playoffs MVP after he averaged a postseason career best 28.5 points a game before the Pacers won the ABA Finals over the Los Angeles Stars. He scored 53 points in Game 4 (after the Pacers had won two of the first three games), a franchise record for a playoff game. In Game 6, Brown scored 45 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a decisive victory.
Brown would go on to win two more championships with the Pacers. The NBA later reinstated Brown, but he chose to never play in the league. Future Pacers player (and Hall of Famer) Reggie Miller considers Brown the greatest player to never play in the NBA.
Head coach Bobby Leonard stated that Brown “always came up big and he would tell you, when money’s on the line, I’ll be there." Brown was one of seven players unanimously selected to the ABA All-Time Team in 1997. He is one of four players (the others are Miller, George McGinnis, and Mel Daniels) to have his jersey (#35) retired by the Pacers.
On February 15, 2013, Brown was announced as one of five direct inductees to join the Naismith Hall of Fame, having been elected by the Hall's ABA Committee. He was inducted in September 2013.

## Later life and death

During his basketball career, Brown served on the Indianapolis City-County Council for four years. He is the father of seven children. Roger Jr., Stacie Hicks, Rodney, Malissa Brown, Gayle Brown, Destiny Brown and Roger. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1996 and died the following year.