It’s difficult for Mikel Brown Jr. to move.
There are about 50 pins running the length of his white jacket and down his baby blue pants, as he stands on a platform in a fitting room. A tailor is making alterations to the suit he will wear at the upcoming NBA Draft on June 23.
Each stitch of fabric needs to be just right. On this late June morning in downtown Los Angeles, Brown Jr., a 6-foot-5 guard from Louisville and potential top-10 pick, tries to tilt his head ever so slightly — without disrupting the pinning — to catch a glimpse of the many cameras circling him. Videographers from his marketing team are trying to capture the pre-draft hoopla. It’s good practice, because, in a matter of days, he’ll face more cameras than ever before.
“Younger me would be in disbelief,” Brown said. “It’s a rollercoaster of emotions. The job’s not finished. But damn — we made it.”
He pauses. “Sorry, excuse my language.”
The 20-year-old breaks into a big smile, energetic and green, a classic rookie signifier.
“I feel professional,” he said.
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He’s shy but funny, earnest but thoughtful. He reflects on the deeper meaning behind this moment. This suit. It’s a nod to his Puerto Rican heritage on the side of his mother, Marisela. She is at the fitting, beaming at her son while looking over each detail he chose to honor her roots.
The Puerto Rican flag. The island’s native flowers. The bright mix of colors, a nod to its melting pot of ethnicities, and his favorite color, baby blue. If the projections are right, he will be the second player of Puerto Rican descent to ever be drafted in the top 10 on Tuesday in the first round. Alfred “Butch” Lee was taken by the Hawks at No. 10 in 1978. Jose Alvarado, who just helped the Knicks to the NBA title, went undrafted in 2021. Carlos Arroyo and J.J. Barea also went undrafted.
Brown is proud of his culture. He loves his abuela (grandmother), Gisela Caraballo’s arroz blanco, con habichuela negras y pollo guisado: white rice, black beans (cooked in sofrito) and grilled chicken. He has fond memories of the music of Marc Anthony, Victor Manuelle and Afro-Cuban All Stars floating through the home. He loved to salsa with his grandmother, who, along with his abuelo (grandfather), Miguel Caraballo, is among his biggest influences.
“There’s meaning behind every single thing I do in life,” he said. “Everything you do should be purposeful.”
He is that way, too, on the court, wasting little movement to get to his shot. He has a high hoops IQ as a playmaker and lead guard. He can score in a hurry but enjoys passing to teammates most, setting them up to succeed.
He is soon reminded of another detail on his draft outfit: He’s written a lyric on his white shoes from his favorite artist, Michael Jackson, from “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”:
“I believe in me, so you believe in you.”
It wasn’t always easy to maintain belief in himself — especially after some doubted him.
Why isn’t Mikel Brown Jr. playing?
He isn’t really hurt.
He should be playing.
Brown had a productive freshman regular season, which included a 45-point outburst against North Carolina State, which tied a 70-year record for most points by a player in an ACC game. He drilled 10 3s to break Cooper Flagg’s ACC single-game scoring mark for a freshman. He averaged 18.2 points, 4.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 21 games.
But throughout the season, Brown dealt with a lower back injury. He sat out 14 games, including the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. He is healthy now.
“It was hard,” Brown said. “Playing in the March Madness tournament is a dream. It’s what you dream of as a kid. You want to play in those big-time games. …
“I struggled. … I genuinely struggled.”
He remembered walking out in the arena in the second round ahead of his team’s matchup against Michigan State, taking in the vibrant atmosphere. It felt surreal, to be so close to a dream. And then, he felt the crushing weight of the realization: I don’t get to play.
“I was mad,” Brown said. “I was cussing myself out. I was just angry because I couldn’t play.”
Louisville lost that game, ending the season. But the chatter online about Brown only grew louder. He tried to ignore it.
“People can say what they want to say about it,” Brown said. “I don’t think nobody understands the love that I have for this game.”
Marisela and Christopher Brown Sr., Mike’s father who is a former University of West Florida basketball player and also his son’s trainer, reminded him to stay positive.
“It was a hard time for everybody, not just for Mikel,” Marisela said. “It was hard.”
She remembers being in the Louisville training room with Mikel while he was receiving treatment for his back on a table. She leaned over and whispered to him: “I need you to think about this. Because, you know, with that perception of other people.”
“Mom,” Mikel calmly told her, “since when do we care what people think?”
Something in her loosened.
“You’re totally right,” she said. The moment is still emotional for her to recall. She sheds a tear. “I was really proud of him. That he didn’t let the outside forces really come into his mind.”
His parents reminded him of the strength of both sides of his family.
“Reminding him of who he is,” Marisela said. “You come from a lineage of strong people. You come from the bloodline of strong, fortified spirits. You, too, can weather it.”
The focus became getting healthy and tuning out outside noise. It is a mentality that still serves him today, as some doubt his size or ability to match the physicality of the next level.
“I feel like I have an advantage when I’m in a position like that. Doubted. …I feel I’m at my best when I am in that position,” Brown said.
He’s always felt like he has been in that position.
(Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)
Growing up, when his dad was teaching him the fundamentals of basketball, he heard similar doubts about his game: “He’s too little,” Mikel said. “He’s not physical. We don’t know if he’s going to grow. …I’m used to that.”
He was passionate about the game as soon as he started playing rec ball around 5 years old. Many kids say they hate losing, but Mikel hated it with every bone in his body. He said he cried every time he lost.
His parents, having both been former athletes — Marisela at volleyball and Chris at basketball — instilled a sense of work ethic in Mikel and his two siblings, Zackariah and Arianna. His mother has been coaching volleyball for 21 years. Mikel said they told him to take advantage of any opportunity that came his way and to keep working.
That mindset also came from his grandparents.. Miguel served 22 years in the Army.
“Very strict, and about his business,” Mikel said of Miguel. “You’re supposed to do everything with a purpose.”
Education came first. When Marisela was pregnant with Mikel, she was on a full volleyball scholarship; Chris was on a full basketball scholarship. Marisela chose to let go of her scholarship.
“It was a lot for my mom and dad to manage,” Marisela said, “but my dad was amazing. He was like, ‘This is what we’re gonna do. You are going to stay here under our roof. Mom is gonna help you raise him.
“You’re gonna finish your education — that is without question.’”
They clung tighter as a family. Gisela was with Marisela every day, picking Mikel up from daycare, helping take care of him until he was about 4. As Mikel grew older, he learned more about his Puerto Rican family and its values.
“With leadership, with responsibilities,” Marisela said, “work ethic is major.”
He went to Utuado, Puerto Rico, seeing where his mother grew up. He visited La Parque de Palomás, Bacardi house, Ponce, Streets of San Juan, El Morro. The beaches of Dorado. He visited Cayey, where Miguel grew up. His parents also took him to Columbia, S.C., where Christopher was raised and went to school.
“We’ve made it a big effort to make sure he knows his roots,” Marisela said.
His parents supported his college basketball and NBA dreams, but Mikel had to also learn to trust his own vision. In his teenage years, Mikel said he struggled a bit with “self-doubt.” It came when people began to second guess his ability or his physicality, asking the question: Is he going to grow?
“I’ve always been the kid to have confidence in everything I do, but you know, you hit a wall,” Mikel said. “You’re gonna hit a wall at some point, and you know, doubt comes in your mind like, ‘All this work that I’m doing, is it working?’”
Questions would creep in. He’d wonder what he was doing wrong. But he soon realized the fault in that thinking. Some days the orange ball just doesn’t go in the hoop. He normalized doubt, and accepted that criticism is inevitable.
His parents continued to instill confidence in him. His father would tell him to stick to their plan; don’t waver. His mom would remind him that they don’t quit; they figure things out.
“From my high school years until now, I’ve been better with it,” Mikel said of self-doubt, “just understanding that I am going to have bad days but understanding that the work is going to show. Like, you’re doing everything right. You’re recovering right. You are on the court as much as possible, doing what it takes. Some days are not going to be your day. And I’ve understood that now better than ever.”
Doubt, he was realizing, was part of his process. It wasn’t something to fear. He says he has learned to let it go.
He trusts himself now. His mentors, including Cavs star Donovan Mitchell and family friend Chucky Atkins, who played in the NBA for more than a decade, have further bolstered his confidence. They’ve taught him that “there’s no perfect basketball player,” Brown said.
“The greatest players ever had bad days before.”
Mitchell spoke to him at his first “Spida Camp.” And he believed Brown could play. Mariesela said Mitchell gave him clarity and some “pearls of wisdom,” which also helped with his confidence.
Doubt has also made Mikel push himself more: “It’s all about how you respond.”
As draft night approaches, Brown already feels like he’ll have something to prove in his rookie season.
His mentors remind him to think beyond this moment — to focus more on longevity and less on when he is projected to be drafted.
“The goal obviously is to make it, but the main goal is to stay and have (an) impact on any team that you’re on,” Brown said.
He is also thinking about inspiring those that come next. He believes he is the first draftee to have already created his own youth development program, MBJ Elite. He considers the players in his program as his little brothers. He wants them to know that everyone’s path is different, but to focus on what one can control, such as work ethic.
I believe in me, so you believe in you.He looks down at his draft shoes, thinking back to Michael Jackson. Back to thinking about how emotional the next few days will be. His entire family will either fly or drive to New York to be with him for the draft and celebrate afterward. He’s excited.
He and Marisela share a laugh. No matter how big-time he gets, he’ll still have to do chores when he returns home. Take out the trash, especially.
Then he looks down at his jacket, his baby blue pants. He can see the flowers. The Puerto Rican flag. His mother. His father. His grandparents.
And he feels lifted, releasing any doubt.
