Collier Brown, Jr. (born October 14, 1969 in
Detroit, Michigan), commonly referred to as P.J.
Brown, is an American professional basketball player
who currently plays for the NBA's Boston Celtics.
The 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), 239 lb (108 kg/17.1 st)
center/power forward was selected out of Louisiana
Tech University by the New Jersey Nets with the 29th
overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, but began his
NBA career only in the 1993-94 season. He has been
voted into the NBA All-Defensive Second Team three
times, in 1997, 1999 and 2001, and won the NBA
Sportsmanship Award in 2004. He attended Winnfield
Senior High School in Winnfield, Louisiana, where he
played for the Winnfield Tigers, and has played
professionally for the New Jersey Nets, Miami Heat,
Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets and Chicago Bulls.
On February 27, 2008, after resting for most of the
2007-08 season and weighing his options, Brown
signed with the Boston Celtics for the remainder of
the season, in order to bolster their front court.
His decision to come to Boston was strongly aided by
a conversation with future teammates Ray Allen and
Paul Pierce, who convinced him to sign with the
Celtics during the 2008 NBA All-Star Weekend. The
San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Hornets were
interested in his services, but he wasn't
particularly intrigued by the offers, instead
choosing the Celtics who tried to convince him to
sign throughout most of the season. He made his
debut against the Chicago Bulls, his former team, on
March 7, 2008.
Brown had an unexpected breakout performance which
took place in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference
Semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May
18, 2008, when he scored 10 points and pulled down 6
rebounds, hitting all of his four shots and making
key contributions in the 4th quarter. He hit a key
shot with less than two minutes left in the game as
the Celtics went on to win the game 97-92. After the
game, he told reporters: "That shot, hey, probably I
would say the biggest shot of my career". He also
had a strong performance in Game 1 of the 2008 NBA
Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers on June 5,
2008, playing increased minutes in the first Finals
game of his 15-year career en route to a Celtics
victory.
