213hoops.com
Clippers 2025 Exit Interviews: Kobe Brown
Our exit interview series on the 2025 Clippers continues with little-used second-year forward Kobe Brown.
Basic Information
Height: 6’7
Weight: 250 pounds
Position: Power Forward
Age: 25
Years in NBA: 2
Key Regular Season Stats: 1.9 points, 0.6 assists, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.2 steals in 6.8 minutes per game across 40 games played (zero starts) on 45.8/23.1/71.4 shooting splits (0.7 3PA, 0.2 FTA) shooting splits (51.3 True Shooting)
G-League Stats: 21.0 points, 4.0 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 3.2 turnovers in 33.3 minutes per game across six games played (all starts) on 47.4/36.6/80 shooting splits (6.8 3PA, 2.5 FTA) shooting splits (62 True Shooting)
Expectations
After a rookie season where Kobe Brown received only scant time
in Ty Lue’s rotation, fans hoped that the second-year player would figure as a
somewhat more prominent factor in the Clippers’ plans in 2025. The Clippers
only had three true power forwards on the roster outside of Kobe, one of which
was the exiled PJ Tucker, and another of which was the injured Kawhi Leonard. Thus,
it seemed reasonable that Kobe could carve out a rotation spot until Kawhi
Leonard returned, even with the quantity of guards and wings on the roster that
were more proven NBA players.
Reality
Kobe Brown unfortunately played even less of a role in the Clippers’ 2025 season than he did their 2024 season, logging just 272 minutes across 40 games with nearly all of those coming in garbage time. There’s also not much to take from Kobe’s G-League numbers either, as he played just six games for the San Diego Clippers.
It’s hard to call it a lost season for Kobe – he got to practice with the “big league” team and received another year of training and conditioning. Hopefully real progress was made, even if we couldn’t see it. But Kobe being unable to play for the 2025 Clippers was undoubtedly a disappointment, as they were small on the wing and playing bad centers for most of the season… with Kobe theoretically able to fill both of those holes. The fact that the Clippers didn’t think he could play over Kai Jones or Mo Bamba as a small-ball center, or as a power forward when the Clippers were playing four guards, is worrisome. It’s hard to know why Kobe didn’t play, but his poor three-point shooting (in limited minutes) and inability to defend without fouling were probably the main reasons why he didn’t play more.
Future with Clippers
The Clippers exercised Kobe’s third-year option last fall, so he will be on the books for $2.65M for next season, with a team option for $4.79M the following year. Honestly, things aren’t looking great for Kobe, who has been unable to crack the Clippers’ rotation as an older first-round pick on a team that kind of needs the exact archetype of player (beefy power forward) that Kobe fits. Ty Lue has been reticent to play young players for most of his tenure as the Clippers’ head coach – but also most of the young players he’s ignored have in fact not been NBA-level talent.
I do think Kobe has more talent and is a better fit for the modern NBA than Mfiondu Kabengele, Daniel Oturu, or Jason Preston, but he needs to find the range on his three-point shot or become a better defender to stick in the league. I think the Clippers will probably give him one more shot to crack the rotation in 2026, but it would not surprise me at all if he was traded as salary ballast or as a throw-in to a deal this summer.