PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers and Head Coach Brett Brown have agreed to a contract extension, President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo announced today. Brown, who has served as the team’s head coach since 2013, will be under contract with the 76ers through the 2021-22 season.
“Brett has done a terrific job over the past several years building and cultivating a program, but the substantially positive growth in the win column these past two seasons has proven he is the right man to continue leading this team in our quest for an NBA championship,” Colangelo said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled for Brett, his family and the organization to be moving forward for several years to come.”
Under Brown’s leadership, Philadelphia has increased its win total by 42 games since the start of the 2015-16 season, a run that tied Boston (2006-08) for the largest turnaround within a three-year span in NBA history.
“Brett has done a remarkable job in helping build a family-like culture centered around player development, work ethic and a commitment to long-term winning. We made incredible strides this past season with 52 wins and a playoff run,” said Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and Philadelphia 76ers Managing Partner Josh Harris. “With a dynamic young core and opportunities to further strengthen our team, the 76ers are well-positioned for the future and we’re thrilled to reach this agreement with Brett to continue as our head coach.”
“Brett’s commitment to player development and culture-building is exceptional. With this contract extension, we look forward to the 76ers’ continued growth under his leadership. He has helped develop some of the NBA’s brightest young stars, and we’re excited for what awaits as we continue to add to this talented roster,” said Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and Philadelphia 76ers Managing Partner David Blitzer.
The 76ers finished the 2017-18 season with a record of 52-30, good for third place in the Eastern Conference. The third-place finish was their best since finishing first in 2000-01 and marked the team’s first postseason appearance since 2012. Brown led the team to a 4-1 series win over the sixth-seeded Miami Heat in the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs. The series victory marked the first time Philadelphia won a best-of-seven playoff series in five-or-fewer games since sweeping Milwaukee in 1985. The 76ers also set a new franchise playoff record, converting on 18 three-pointers in Games 1 and 3 against Miami; the previous team best was 11, which had been accomplished twice.
Brown, the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for March/April, guided the 76ers to 16 straight wins to end the season, which set an NBA record for the longest winning streak by a team heading in the playoffs. The 16-game winning streak is a single-season team record.
“I am especially grateful to my coaching staff and my players,” said Brown. “It takes a village. I feel a tremendous responsibility to owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer to help grow and lead our program. They have treated my family and me with integrity and care. They are great owners to work for. The city of Philadelphia deserves a parade and this evolution is all that is on my mind. I am excited to partner with Bryan Colangelo and Scott O’Neil to continuously strive for this elusive goal.”
A native of Maine, Brown has developed an identity of “pace, space and defend” during his tenure in Philadelphia, which led the 76ers to top-three rankings in both assists and defensive rating this past season. Under Brown’s direction, the team finished ninth in offensive rating, posted the most home wins in a season since 1988-89 (30) and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Philadelphia posted an Eastern Conference-best 27.1 assists per game, a mark topped only by the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors (29.3). It was the 76ers’ best such mark in a single season since posting 27.6 per contest in 1981-82.
From March 16-April 1, the 76ers posted at least 30 assists in nine straight games. The nine-game streak was a franchise record and is tied for the third-longest such streak in league history.
With an overall defensive rating of 102.0, the 76ers ranked third in the NBA and second in the Eastern Conference. The only teams with lower defensive ratings than Philadelphia, were Boston (101.5) and Utah (101.6), which both qualified for the NBA Playoffs. Anchoring the defense were NBA All-Defensive selections forward Robert Covington (First Team) and center Joel Embiid (Second Team).
Covington, Embiid, forward Dario Šarić, guard JJ Redick and guard-forward Ben Simmons made up the team’s most frequently-used starting lineup, which held a record of 32-15 in its 47 games together. This lineup outscored its opponents by a league-leading 269 points on the season. No other five-man lineup outscored its opponents by more than 169 points.
Simmons was selected to the All-Rookie First Team last week. Coach Brown has had at least one player selected to the All-Rookie First Team in each of his five seasons at the helm. Under Brown’s tutelage, Embiid blossomed into a first-time All-Star starter in 2018, while Simmons produced a historic rookie season as the team’s primary ball handler, posting 12 triple-doubles, the second-most ever by a rookie.
Since the start of the 2013-14 season, when Brown first took over the reins, Philadelphia leads the NBA in steals, with a total of 3,608. Houston is the next closest team with 3,588, while the closest Eastern Conference foe is Atlanta, which has posted 3,481 steals over the past five seasons.
Brown, an ambassador to youth coaches in the Philadelphia and Camden communities, hosts an annual coaching clinic, which is a part his Brett Brown Coaches Circle initiative that provides outreach and resources to local basketball coaches. An advocate for autism awareness and inclusion, this past season, Brown hosted the second annual Bounce Out the Stigma Autism Awareness Clinic. He and Bounce Out the Stigma Founder and Director Mike Simmel, led more than 50 children with sensory needs in passing, shooting and dribbling drills. Bounce Out the Stigma is a nonprofit organization that holds basketball camps for youth with unique needs in 20 states designed to empower children.
During the regular season, Brown frequently meets with 76ers season ticket members for a pregame “chalk talk.” These informal interactions are held prior to home games and serve as a time for 76ers fans to connect with the team’s head coach.
