Rushia Brown

Last updated

Rushia Brown
Personal information
Born (1972-05-05) May 5, 1972 (age 53)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school Summerville (Summerville, South Carolina)
College Furman (1989–1994)
Position Forward
Number34
Career history
1997–2002 Cleveland Rockers
2003 Charlotte Sting
Career highlights
  • 4× First-team All-Southern (1990, 1992–1994)
  • Southern Conference Player of the Year (1992)
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Rushia Brown (born May 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. She played college basketball for the Furman Paladins and professionally for the Cleveland Rockers and Charlotte Sting of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Contents

Early life

Brown was born May 5, 1972, in New York City, New York. She attended Summerville High School in Summerville, South Carolina. [1]

College career

Brown played college basketball for the Furman Paladins from 1989 to 1994. Her freshman season, she played in 29 games and recorded a field goal percentage of 56.8%, both of which led all Southern Conference players. She was first in the conference in her junior year in rebounds (9.3), steals (3.2), and points (21.0) per game. In her fifth-year senior season, she led the conference in blocks per game, with 1.7. She was selected first-team All-Southern in 1990, 1992, 1993, and 1994, and was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year in 1992. [2]

Brown was inducted into the Furman Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999. Furman retired her no. 34 jersey and she holds school records in career field goals (908), points (2,169), points per game (19.0), blocks (193), blocks per game (1.69), steals (341), and steals per game (2.99). [3]

Brown was inducted into the Southern Conference Hall of Fame in 2014. [4]

Professional career

Brown played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for seven seasons. [1] Her debut game was played on June 21, 1997 in a 56–76 loss to the Houston Comets. In her debut, Brown recorded four points, two rebounds, one assist, and one block in nearly five minutes of playing time. [5]

On May 22, 2002, Brown suffered a spiral fracture to her right pinky finger and was evaluated to miss 4–6 weeks of the season. [6] She would indeed miss the first four games of the 2002 season, but returned on June 14 to record 11 points, two assists, and two steals in a 63–69 loss to the Washington Mystics. [7]

On May 19, 2003, the Rockers traded Brown to the Charlotte Sting in exchange for Pollyanna Johns Kimbrough. [8] In Game 2 of the 2003 WNBA playoffs, which Brown started, she tallied one point, seven rebounds, and two assists as the Sting fell to the Sun 62–68. [9]

Brown missed the 2004 season [1] but signed a contract with the Sting again on March 16, 2005. However, she was waived two months later on May 20. [10] She appeared in 210 WNBA games with 75 starts, averaging 5.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game. [1] After her WNBA career, Brown also played for ten years overseas for professional teams in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, and South Korea. [3]

Executive career

On March 16, 2018, Brown was hired by the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces as the team's player programs and franchise development manager. [11]

In May 2020, the Los Angeles Sparks hired Brown as the team's director of community relations and youth sports. [12]

Philanthropy

Brown founded Servcom, a community-focused nonprofit organization whose "Play Like a Girl' initiative hosts clinics that train girl athletes where participants meet role models such as female professional athletes and female police officers. [13] The organization has held these clinics in Cleveland [14] and Indianapolis. [15]

After learning of a fellow former WNBA player with a decorated career who had become homeless, Brown founded the Women's Professional Basketball Alumnae to help other former professional women's basketball players transition into life after retiring from sports. [12]

Personal life

Brown has a daughter. [12]

Career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game FG%  Field-goal percentage 3P%  3-point field-goal percentage FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold Career best°League leader

WNBA

WNBA regular season [1]
YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
1997 Cleveland 28°318.3.520–.7344.00.71.20.51.06.3
1998 Cleveland 30°717.4.460.000.7763.10.91.10.51.66.5
1999 Cleveland 301214.5.427.000.6762.90.70.60.31.14.4
2000 Cleveland 302222.6.497.500.8464.11.51.30.42.08.4
2001 Cleveland 302425.3.5181.000.7304.41.21.50.31.28.3
2002 Cleveland 28216.7.400.000.7372.71.00.80.31.44.0
2003 Charlotte 34°514.2.457.000.8262.40.50.90.31.03.7
Career7 years, 2 teams2107518.4.475.250.7653.40.91.00.41.35.9
WNBA playoffs statistics [1]
YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
1998 Cleveland 307.0.333–.5001.00.01.70.01.71.7
2000 Cleveland 6627.8.467.000.8755.71.72.80.32.810.5
2001 Cleveland 3120.7.667–.8332.71.71.30.71.08.3
2003 Charlotte 2123.0.429–.5004.02.01.00.02.03.5
Career4 years, 2 teams14821.1.493.000.8243.81.42.00.32.17.1

College

NCAA statistics [16]
YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
1989–90 Furman 29––.568–.5688.10.82.61.4–15.8
1990–91 Furman 4––.549–.6307.00.82.03.3–18.3
1991–92 Furman 26––.582.000.6309.31.13.22.3–21.0
1992–93 Furman 28––.602.000.5469.61.53.41.2–18.8
1993–94 Furman 27––.614.000.6079.11.12.91.7–21.0
Career114––.591.000.5949.01.13.01.7–19.0

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Rushia Brown WNBA stats". Basketball Reference . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Rushia Brown College Stats". Sports Reference . Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Rushia Brown (1999)". Furman University athletics. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Hall of Fame". Southern Conference . Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Houston Comets at Cleveland Rockers, June 21, 1997". Basketball Reference . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  6. ↑ Finnan, Bob (May 31, 2002). "Dampened expectations". News Herald . Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Washington Mystics at Cleveland Rockers, June 14, 2002". Basketball Reference . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  8. ↑ "2003 WNBA Transactions". WNBA.com. 2003. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Connecticut Sun at Charlotte Sting, August 30, 2003". Basketball Reference . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  10. ↑ "2005 WNBA Transactions". WNBA.com. 2005. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Las Vegas Adds Ronde Jackson, Rushia Brown To Front Office Staff". Las Vegas Aces . March 16, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  12. 1 2 3 Samuel, Naya (January 14, 2022). "How Former WNBA Star Rushia Brown Is Creating Networks of Care for Retired Players". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  13. ↑ Padilla, Noe (July 28, 2024). "Ex-WNBA star Rushia Brown, IMPD host special girls' basketball clinic". The Indianapolis Star . Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  14. ↑ Murrey, Remi (April 8, 2024). "WNBA legends give back to CMSD students through free basketball clinic". news5cleveland . Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  15. ↑ Woods, Naja (July 27, 2024). "Basketball clinic puts power behind the phrase 'Play Like A Girl'". WRTV . Retrieved July 5, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Rushia Brown College Stats". Sports Reference . Retrieved July 11, 2025.
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