CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell once likened speaking with a then-teenage Mikel Brown Jr. to talking hoops with James Harden, marveling at his protege’s maturity and basketball IQ. 

Saturday night, Brown got his first chance to suit up for real against both Mitchell and Harden. The Nets rookie finally got to play against his mentor in a game that mattered — and got to face the future Hall of Famer Harden for good measure in the Nets game at Cleveland. 

“Shoot, it’s great,” Brown, 20, said beforehand. “They’re obviously coming off a loss as well, just as we are, so they’re going to come in hungry. But to be able to play against Don was kind of crazy. The time went by. Three years ago I literally just met him in high school, and to be able to share the same court as him now and compete against him is great.” 

The Nets overtly tanked the last two seasons to get back-to-back lottery picks that became first Egor Dëmin and now Brown. 

While they had the joint-best odds of landing the top overall pick, they slid all the way to sixth. But the silver lining is that in a deep class they still ended up with Brown, whom Mitchell has said is hardly a consolation prize. 

“Not many high school kids pay attention to the details. I’m having conversations with [Brown] like I’m talking to James Harden,” Mitchell said recently. “He’s going to do amazing things in Brooklyn. Nets fans should be really excited, because they got one.” 

Years ago, when they were on a different timeline, the Nets eyed Mitchell. A local who was born in Elmsford — and played AAU basketball for both the Riverside Hawks and The City — he would’ve made an All-Star centerpiece in Brooklyn. 

Mikel Brown Jr. of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Oct. 21, 2026. Getty Images

Now they can only hope that Brown can someday become that. 

Brown was one-and-done at Louisville, where Mitchell was All-ACC in 2017. The latter took him under his wing, and is helping him right up until today. 

“Yeah, really just use what he [taught] … I get to use against him now, so it’s great. I’m just ready to compete at a high level,” Brown said. “I’ve been talking to him saying I’m gonna see him soon. So, the time is now. So, it’s gonna be good to compete out there. 

“He talked to me after my first game about some stuff. We talked about some things. But other than that, we both know what it is.” 

Donovan Mitchell (45) of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives around Tyrese Maxey (0) of the Philadelphia 76ers during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Oct. 22, 2026. Getty Images

Brown had 15 points with three assists, two steals and just one turnover in his debut, a season-opening loss to Charlotte. This despite a recent ankle injury that had him limited to under 20 minutes and could see him rested Sunday vs. the Pacers. 

Following the debut performance, Mitchell checked in on his protege with some advice. 

“Just the things that I’ve already kind of fixed on my own. Going back and watching the film, there’s definitely a lot of things that I could have fixed. And me and him are basically on the same page on what I need to do better. So, yeah, that’s great,” said Brown, who was prepared to be trash-talked by his mentor Saturday. 

“A little bit. A little bit. You know, not too much, but I know he’s gonna say something tonight. So I’m ready to bump. … I might [trash-talk back] a little bit. I know he’s probably gonna do it, so I’m up for it.” 

Brown rolled his ankle the week before camp and missed the first three preseason games before debuting in the finale. He also missed the second half of his lone Louisville campaign with a back injury. Both may factor into the minutes limit. 

He was coy about whether the performance team has ruled him out for the tail end of this back-to-back at home Sunday vs. visiting Indiana. 

“As of right now, I don’t know. I’m just kind of just going with the flow at this point,” Brown said. “I’m ready to hoop regardless. If they call my name, I’m ready to hoop.”