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After a discouraging year, Lexie Brown has found a family again with the Lynx

As quickly as she can roll off a screen, set her feet and pop a 3-pointer in front of a defender’s face, Lexie Brown can tell you exactly where she was when she was traded to the Lynx.

The next chapter of the former Connecticut Sun player’s WNBA career began April 10 while she was at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. It was the night of the 2019 WNBA Draft, but Brown had agreed to spend her night taking her younger brother to an Atlanta Hawks game.

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It was there that Brown got the game-changing news.

“I got a text from my agent, and she was like, ‘You’re about to get traded,’” Brown recalled. “Then she called me and told me it was the Lynx, and I was so excited.”

On draft night, excitement is typically reserved for rookies. But when Brown looks back on that night three months later, she remembers the trade with relief.

“I was super excited, and it’s funny because when I talk to some of my friends who play in the NBA or the WNBA who’ve been traded, it’s like a sad thing,” Brown said. “But everyone was like, ‘Congrats on the trade, we can’t wait for you.’ You don’t ever get congratulated on a trade like that.”

That’s because those close to Brown knew what the trade meant for her. One year earlier, she had been the ninth pick in the 2018 draft by the Connecticut Sun but then spent a frustrating rookie year languishing on the bench for a team that finished fourth in the league during the regular season. Instead of returning to Connecticut for another season in an environment where her worth was questioned and her playing time was sparse, the deal allowed Brown to become a key member of the Lynx, reigniting her sense of belonging in the WNBA.

“I didn’t think it was going to come around this fast,” she said, “but I’m glad it did.”

To understand Brown’s path to the WNBA, look to her love for family.

Until she made a basketball career for herself, Brown was mostly known by basketball heads as former NBA point guard Dee Brown’s daughter. Her father’s career forced them to move more than average, but family time was always prioritized in the Brown household — no matter where it was located.

“We always found a way to be together as often as possible,” Brown said. “When I was younger I just remembered being around family all of the time.”

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The oldest of four, Brown remembers spending many nights at home with her mother, Tammy, who still screens her Instagram posts.

“I was the first-born so I got all of the rules, and I was always at home with my mom. It’s funny watching my little siblings now, because they’re always out. She’s like, ‘You were like my best friend for so long,’ because I was the first-born and she was so young.

“I just love being around my family. They’ve just been my support through everything, good, bad and different.”

The conversation you didn’t know you needed to hear today: Lexie Brown (@lexiekiah_4) and her dad, Dee Brown, discuss all things #TheTeam following our win over Virginia. 👇 pic.twitter.com/C4fJTon2qs

— Duke Women’s Basketball (@DukeWBB) January 15, 2018

Brown’s family played a large role in her commitment to basketball, but contrary to what some may think, a path to follow in her father’s footsteps wasn’t predetermined for her.

Instead, Brown stuck with basketball because of the family time it provided her.

“(Basketball) was a family thing, and all of my best friends played with me,” Brown said. “It wasn’t just like, ‘Lexie is playing basketball and her family is off doing this.’ It was, ‘If Lexie is coming to the tournament, Lexie is coming to practice, her whole family is probably coming with her.’”

But with the additional, basketball-oriented family time came some tough love from her father.

“A lot of times my dad would be like, ‘Are you sure? Are you sure you want to play basketball?’ And I think that’s where that work ethic came in. I wouldn’t say that I saw the doubt, but I saw him be like, ‘OK, she’s not going to be that great.’ Me and him spent a lot of time in the gym working on very basic and simple things. He knew that’s the difference between a good player and a great player.”

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Brown believes growing up as the daughter of an NBA player brought her more advantages than disadvantages, such as detailed gym sessions, but it also forced her to prove her worth early on.

“When you’re younger, it’s a lot of, ‘She’s just doing this, she’s only at this camp because of her dad. She’s only ranked this because of her dad,’” Brown said. “But I’ve always played with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. I was always super proud that he was my dad, but I always wanted to be able to separate the two. I was Dee Brown’s daughter for so long, and I don’t think that changed until I got to Duke.”

Brown’s tailored work ethic landed her a prominent freshman role with the Maryland Terrapins during the 2013-14 season in which she started 30 games and was named to the ACC All-Freshmen Team. Brown stuck it out with the Terrapins for one more highly-decorated season, but the team’s move from the ACC to the Big Ten and its further-afield road games forced her to rethink her college decision.

“I was barely able to see my family, they were barely able to see my games, which just really bothered me,” Brown said. “That Big Ten move made it impossible for any of my family to come to any games.”

Brown’s initial plan to return to the ACC began with the University of North Carolina, the first school she fell in love with. But when the Tar Heels passed on recruiting Brown, she leaned on the reliable back-up plan of mother’s intuition.

“I despised Duke for the longest time, but my mom was like, ‘I think you should go on a visit,’ and I was like, ‘I think I shouldn’t,’” Brown said. “Then we ended up going and I loved it. Mom knows best, and it ended up working out.”

Working out is an understatement.

After sitting out for the 2015-16 season due to the NCAA’s transfer rules, Brown soon raised her profile by averaging 18.3 points and 3.9 assists per game for the Blue Devils, who found a role for their new starting point guard as soon as she was available.

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By the end of her redshirt senior year, Brown became one of only three players in NCAA Power Five conference history — along with Alabama’s Niesa Johnson and Brown’s current teammate and former Baylor star Odyssey Sims — to record over 2,000 points, 500 assists, 300 steals and 200 3-pointers.

Lexie Brown, you're a ⭐️.

An all-time great for @DukeWBB pic.twitter.com/zHvCTlEioJ

— NCAA WBB (@ncaawbb) March 24, 2018

However, Brown knew her collegiate successes wouldn’t grant her any promises in the WNBA. Brown went through the transition of being a well-known college star her team depended on to an afterthought rookie whose role was tied to the bench. She averaged just 5.6 minutes per game for the Sun in 2018 and shot a dismal 27.3 percent from the field. She barely registered on the stat sheet, netting just 1.7 points and 0.5 assists in her limited playing time.

With her father’s insight, she expected some adversity.

“Having a pro as a dad, you’re expecting these types of situations to happen,” Brown said. “I wasn’t expecting to get into the WNBA and be like a leading scorer.”

Yet, she was expecting to end up with a team that at least saw her as a building block for its future after investing a first-round pick in her.

“You want to find a place that makes you feel comfortable even if you’re not playing in that moment,” Brown said. “You want to feel like they at least have a plan for you long-term. And that’s what I didn’t feel in Connecticut.”

The Sun already listed guards Jasmine Thomas — a 2017 All-Star and the team’s second-leading scorer in 2018 — and Courtney Williams — who is second on the team this year in scoring and minutes played — on its roster prior to selecting Brown, leaving little immediate need for Brown’s skills at the position.

Connecticut’s head coach and general manager Curt Miller, Brown says, was upfront with Brown when she first joined his team.

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“When I met with Curt for the first day, he was basically like, ‘Yeah, you’re probably not going to play this year.’”

Feeling unclear about a path to more playing time, Brown retreated to the solace of an empty gym, hoping her individual workouts would pay off the way her childhood gym sessions did. But when she still didn’t see more playing time, she began to isolate herself in an effort to hide her personal frustrations.

“It was just hard,” Brown said. “It was a hard transition, and I just kind of felt alone on that team. They were a great team, we still had a really good season, and I didn’t want to take anything away from that, so I kind of internalized a lot, which caused me to isolate myself.”

Brown tried to disguise her disappointment as the Sun got off to a 7-1 start while she mostly watched from the sidelines, but when her self-doubt surfaced, her “down days” eliminated all traces of the forced positivity she tried to give off.

“I would go to practice, I wouldn’t say anything, I wouldn’t talk to anybody,” Brown said. “I mean, I wasn’t rude — if someone spoke to me I’d respond, but I was just kind of in my own little bubble.

“That was like the first time as a basketball player where I was like, ‘Am I good? How did I get here? Why am I here?’ I had never questioned why I was somewhere, and it was even harder because I was selected (by Connecticut). So I was like, ‘Did you pick me because you didn’t know who else to pick? Or did you pick me and then I did something wrong immediately?’”

Once again, she leaned on her parents’ wisdom.

“Just keep putting good energy into the universe,” she said, recalling their advice, “and it’ll keep coming around.”

The universe came through for Brown on that April day in Atlanta when the Lynx sent their No. 18 draft pick, Natisha Hiedeman, to Connecticut in a one-for-one trade and instantly made Brown feel as though she was needed again.

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“(The veterans) just acted like I’ve been here for forever,” Brown said. “They didn’t act weird or anything. They were super welcoming and made us feel like they needed us on the team to win, which was really nice.”

Her veteran teammates’ greetings weren’t disingenuous. Brown has proven to be a vital cog in the Lynx’s discovery of who they are without Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen or Rebekkah Brunson. She is averaging 21.1 minutes, 9.2 points, 1.5 assists and 1 steal per game. Her field-goal percentage is up to 42.3 percent, and she’s 40.4 percent from long range — second best on the team and sixth in the league among players with four or more attempts per game. Although she’s still coming off the bench for the Lynx, her knock-down 3-point shooting and refined man-to-man defense have made her a go-to player in crunch time.

🌇🌇🌇🌇🌇🌇🌇🌇🌇🌇
🌇 DOWNTOWN 🌇
🌇 LEXIE BROWN 🌇
🌇🌇🌇🌇🌇🌇🌇🌇🌇🌇 pic.twitter.com/UEbFzRslYz

Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) June 8, 2019

“I think Lexie is doing an amazing job here,” fellow guard Danielle Robinson said. “She’s come in and just really wanted to learn. (She) wanted to be somewhere where she felt that we were going to use her, and we have. Her shooting ability … it’s the purest shot I’ve ever seen, and she shoots it with such confidence. It doesn’t matter how far out she is — she’s capable of making it.”

But Brown’s fresh start hasn’t been flawless throughout her three months in Minnesota. If an off shooting day comes her way, Brown, the self-proclaimed perfectionist, is prone to retreat to that bubble.

But sulking won’t fly with Lynx head coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve.

“We watch videos of other teams, and we see how some teams treat each other,” Reeve said, “and we don’t ever want to be a team that when you watch you see body language that is derogatory towards our teammates.

“For every player, not just Lexie, when you come here the accountability is a piece that maybe is a little surprising,” Reeve said. “If we see something, we say something. It doesn’t matter who you are.”

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Sure, Reeve’s willingness to stop a play to call out Brown’s slumped shoulders or Seimone Augustus’ incessant “Body language! Body language!” chants from the bench aren’t always instantly appreciated by Brown, who admits she’s been called out many times. But when she reflects on their motives, she remembers how desperately she would have pled for such direction less than a year ago.

“That’s something I didn’t have in Connecticut — people who cared enough to correct me when they saw me getting down on myself or you know, getting frustrated,” Brown said.

“I think Lexie wants to be coachable, a good teammate and all that,” Reeve said. “There’s no question that she’s grown. She’s got a big role on this team. I think she’s embracing that, and just anything that we’re telling her she’s absorbing.”

Brown is grasping Reeve’s concept of accepting failures and says she’s no longer afraid of getting yanked to the bench — unless of course, she isn’t shooting enough.

“(Reeve) will get on us in practice, but she’ll let people rock,” Brown said. “I think she understands that that’s how you coach a championship team. You know, you let people play through their mistakes. She doesn’t take people out for one mistake. Maybe if you make two or three mistakes, then she’s going to pull you out, but you’re going to go right back in, because she has confidence in everybody.”

After a lost year in Connecticut, Brown has found the WNBA family she’s been searching for.

“I feel like I have a family here, and that’s all I wanted out of my first year as a professional athlete — to be on a team that I can call my family,” Brown said. “I didn’t really get that last season.”

(Top photo of Napheesa Collier, Odyssey Sims and Lexie Brown: Sam Wasson / Getty Images)

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