‘A ROUGH PATCH’
Brownlee knew since he was younger that he wanted to play ball, and that love for the game that grew within brought the Tifton, Georgia native to places.
From two JuCo stints before finishing his college career in D1 school St. John’s, he would see himself playing in Mexico before going back home for the NBA Summer League and the D-League, with runs in the ABA in between.
“It’s always been a dream of mine. Basketball is a big-time love for me, so it was really just for the love of the game,” he said. “And, you know, of course, wanting to provide for myself and my family and things like that.”
“But overall, it was just for the love of the game. I’ve been playing since I was, as I remember, five or six years old. I just really wanted to continue playing.”
As much as he was fulfilling a lifelong dream, there came a point where doing so was no longer as fun and as enjoyable as it was, he admitted.
“It was a rough patch playing in the D-League,” admitted Brownlee, who went undrafted in the 2011 NBA Draft but played for the Maine Red Claws in the D-League in 2011-12 before joining the Erie Bayhawks two seasons later.
“You wanted to be at the highest level possible. But you just gotta understand that the players gotta work to get there,” he furthered.
After the D-League, Brownlee found himself packing his bags for Europe, where he would spend the next two years — first with Basket Brescia Leonessa in Italy (2014-15), then with French team Elan Chalon (2015-16).
Little did he know then that an opportunity would open up on the other side of the globe later, one that would alter the course of his life.
THE CALL
Ginebra head coach Tim Cone was scrambling for a replacement import player when former Syracuse standout Paul Harris went down with a finger injury right in his first game in the 2016 Governors’ Cup of the PBA season.
So, he reached out to late agent Sheryl Reyes to seek. Multiple names were brought up and discussed, and they eventually ended up with Brownlee, who was in Las Vegas back then but was not playing in the Summer League.
The champion mentor, it turned out, had been familiar with the 1.93 M (6’4″) forward as he had already scouted him years back. Furthermore, ‘JB,’ as he’s fondly called, is actually a good pal of Harris as they were former teammates in the D-League.
Reyes then asked him if he was willing to play in the Philippines, and he agreed. Shortly after, he was already in Manila, all set to join his new team.
About three months later, Brownlee etched his name in his clubs’ lore for ending the club’s eight-year title drought in dramatic fashion: a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to beat the Meralco Bolts in the Finals’ Game 6, 91-88.
Right before his very eyes, he became a hero to many. From signing just a one-month contract, he would turn out to be the a resident reinforcement — as well as a fixture in this part of Southeast Asia — for years to come.
Fast forward to now and Brownlee is about to play in his 6th season in the PBA (10 conferences) with his team, looking to add to his rich collection of PBA championships that now has six — tied for the most number of titles by a foreign player.
Aside from three PBA Best Import awards, also in his trophy case is a 2018 ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) crown, which he won with San Miguel Alab Pilipinas together with Gilas guard Ray Parks and Puerto Rican star Renaldo Balkman.
Brownlee never imagined one bit that he would find the kind of success he’s been enjoying when he took up the offer.
“I gotta be honest, no. I didn’t see this coming,” said the 12-year pro, whose PBA and ABL success led to a tenure with Al Riyadi in 2019 that ended with a championship run in the Lebanese Basketball League.
“I worked hard and worked for it every single day. but I didn’t think I’d had this — not necessarily this good, but I didn’t think I’d had this much success in the Philippines,” he added. “I couldn’t even imagine this.”
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