Growing up in Dorchester in the early 2000s, future NBA champion Bruce Brown would often listen to adult guest speakers at various Dorchester events. Last Friday, it was the star’s turn to take the microphone at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester (BGCD).

Brown, 27, has had a productive career in the NBA, first with the Brooklyn Nets, then this year with the NBA champion Denver Nuggets before he signed up with the Indiana Pacers going forward. He was key for Denver in the final minutes of the last game for the championship this year, hitting a key layup and making two high-pressure free throws to seal the series win.

“I would say the best part [of winning an NBA championship] is coming back and talking to you guys and letting you know you can, too,” he told the kids gathered last Friday. “If you have a goal and people say it’s too high and too hard to reach, I am sure that you can do it because I’ve done it.”

BGCD youth made a video in June after seeing Brown holding up the championship trophy asking him to visit them. According to club staff, his agent saw the video and helped set up the event. In fact, they said, Brown rearranged his flight schedule last Thursday to be able to visit BGCD on Friday.

Brown told the kids he grew up off Woodrow Avenue, near Blue Hill Avenue, and it was “pretty tough. I would say growing up in Dorchester put a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “My mom didn’t let me go outside much.”

He advised the gathering to dig into their studies. He said he attended Wakefield Schools with the METCO program and didn’t study much. That put him in a position where he couldn’t qualify for college. Instead, he went to a prep school in Vermont to raise his grades. “I didn’t think, being from Dorchester, I would make it or play at the highest level,” he said. “So, I didn’t take school seriously… I really wasn’t the best kid when it came to the books…School was really tough for me and I had to persevere and get the help I needed.”

He eventually played college basketball at the University of Miami. But, he noted, his first love was football and he played Pop Warner early, while starting basketball at age 6.

He urged kids to step out of the “comfort zone,” noting that as a youth in Dorchester he mostly wanted to do what everyone else was doing, whatever was cool at the moment.

“Me now, I’m from Dorchester but I love country music and all things country,” he said. “It’s really experiencing new things and going out and trying new things.”

Brown also played a game of knockout with staff and young members – where BGCD Athletic Director Octavius Nunes and he engaged in an epic ending with Brown’s shot taking a bad bounce and Nunes knocking him out with a three-pointer.
Brown stuck around afterward signing autographs and speaking with the kids one-on-one.

BGCD teens Amadou Camara, Gabby Maynard, Bruce Brown, Willy Alves, Jaylen Lopes, and Taryn Daniel.

BGCD Director Bob Scannell introduces Bruce to the kids.

Sophia Mark, BGCD assistant aquatics director, has her shirt signed by Bruce.

BGCD member Lucas Tavares created a homemade sign welcoming his hometown hero.

Bruce spots up from three-point land and sinks the shot to eliminate BGCD staffer Brendan McDonald (front) during a game of knockout.

BGCD Athletic Director Octavius Nunes sunk a climactic jump shot to beat NBA champ Bruce Brown in a raucous game of “knockout” in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester gymnasium on Deer Street last Friday. Seth Daniel photos