The Brooklyn Nets selected Louisville point guard Mikel Brown Jr. with the sixth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night, their highest selection since Derrick Favors went third in 2010.
When Brown walked to the podium at Barclays Center, he was eight miles from where he played his college games, in the arena that will now host his NBA career. "I'm home," he said. "This is home now."
Brown, 20, from Orlando, Florida, spent one season at Louisville under coach Pat Kelsey averaging 18.2 points, 4.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game.
The back injury that cost him the NCAA Tournament was the main question mark entering draft night. "I feel better than ever now," he said after being selected. When healthy, he was one of the most entertaining players in the ACC, he scored 45 points against NC State in February, tying Wes Unseld's single-game Louisville scoring record and breaking the ACC record for points by a freshman in a single game that Cooper Flagg had held.
He hit 10 three-pointers in that game. He followed it by scoring 29 points against Kentucky earlier in the season and led Louisville in assists in 16 of his 21 appearances.
He is Louisville's highest draft selection since Felton Spencer also went sixth overall in 1990, 36 years ago. He is the first Cardinal in the Top 10 since Samaki Walker went ninth in 1996.
Brown joins a Nets roster that now includes Julius Randle, Michael Porter Jr. and Egor Demin, who was Brooklyn's lottery pick from 2025.
Brooklyn also holds the 28th pick, which came over in the Randle trade from Minnesota, and the 43rd selection in the second round.