The San Antonio Spurs selected former Syracuse and Duke forward Maliq Brown with the 44th overall pick in the second round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday night, June 24, 2026.
The 6-foot-8, 217-pound forward joins a franchise focused on strengthening its frontcourt depth alongside star center Victor Wembanyama.
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Prior to picking Brown, San Antonio drafted Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance, Connecticut center Tarris Reed Jr., and Tennessee guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie during the two-day draft event.
Brown played his final collegiate season at Duke after transferring from Syracuse, where he spent his first two years from 2022 to 2024.
As a senior for the Blue Devils, Brown averaged 4.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while primarily coming off the bench.
The defensive specialist earned both the ACC's Defensive Player of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year honors last season.
Advanced analytics from Bleacher Report highlight that Brown led the nation in defensive box plus-minus, boasting a 4.2 percent career steal rate and a 76.5 percent finishing rate at the rim.
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During the draft broadcast, basketball analysts evaluated how Brown's defensive capabilities would transition into the professional league.
"He was the best defender, not only in the ACC, but frontcourt defender, one of the best in the country," said Jay Bilas, ESPN analyst.
"He's got the best hands, defensively, in college basketball last season. It wasn't close."
Before his selection by San Antonio, Brown attended the NBA pre-draft combine, where measurements recorded his wingspan at 7 feet, 0.75 inches and his standing reach at 8 feet, 11 inches.
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The forward had also conducted workouts with seven other NBA franchises, including Golden State, Orlando, New Orleans, Washington, Indiana, Memphis, and Sacramento.
