Brown always shooting for new heights

Every time Joshua Brown takes the court, the line between dreams and reality blurs.

You see, Brown, born and raised in East St. Paul, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy early in life. Understanding his condition, he came to terms with the challenge it would be to play stand-up sports competitively.

That didn’t stop him from dreaming, though.

Brown remembers watching Canada’s best in wheelchair basketball at the Paralympic Games on television as a youngster, and vividly recalls what went through his mind at the time.

“I want to be there,” Brown told himself.

Without his knowing at the time, that was the prologue to a story that is still being written on the hardwood — a tale that Brown, for all his aspirations, has never worried about how it’ll read in the end.

“Once I started going, I rolled with the wave and saw what happened,” Brown, who has represented Manitoba at three Canada Games and played for the national U23 team, told the Free Press Thursday.

This summer, Brown graduated from Southwest Minnesota State University, where he was named to the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s All-Rookie team in 2022-23 and averaged 15.5 points per game across four seasons.

“I think that’s the only way to go about it, to be honest. I think if you set too many expectations, which I’ve done a lot in my life, you kind of set yourself up for failure because you expect certain things, and when they don’t go your way, you get too frustrated, and you just fall apart. But when you just ride with the waves, no matter what happens, many good things can come of it.

“Obviously that’s what’s happened here, and I couldn’t be happier, honestly.”

The 26-year-old penned a new chapter in his blooming career recently when he joined the Canadian senior men’s national team at the IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Ottawa.

Team Canada went 2-1 in the group stage but dropped consecutive games in the knockout stage, finishing 13th overall.

It was Brown’s first major tournament (classified as a World Championship or the Paralympics) with the national team, and while he didn’t see playing time, he doesn’t feel like he left empty-handed.

He spent valuable time with some of the country’s best current and former players, including fellow Manitoban Joey Johnson — one of the most decorated Canadian players of all time who currently serves as the head coach of the national women’s team.

“It’s one of those things where it’s just a really good experience,” Brown said. “Canada has a history in wheelchair basketball— it used to be one of the best teams in the world, and we won a bunch of gold medals and all this stuff, and some of those guys that were around for that were around for this even. Just getting to talk to them and learn from them and see how they practice, see how they play is a great experience, and it kind of just taught me things.”

Brown plans to take those lessons into another career first this fall when he begins his first professional season with BSR CB Villa de Leganés in Spain’s top division, SuperLiga Fundación ONCE.

From there, he’ll look to parlay that experience into a strong run next summer at the national team tryouts before Canada attempts to qualify for the 2028 Paralympic Games.

“That is my push for sure, especially because I’m going to play for my first pro season. I’m really hoping that this first year pro will really push me to that edge where I need to be at that level and to continue to be on this team,” he said.

Brown, who will return home for a couple of weeks before heading overseas, signed a one-year contract with a club that is rising and was recently promoted to Spain’s best division.

He’s not going alone either, as two former teammates were also signed by BSR CB Villa de Leganés. While Brown admits the early days will likely be filled with growing pains, he recognizes that it’s all in the best interest of his career.

He’s happy to see where this part of his story goes.

“It’s mostly gaining reps,” he said. “I am a competitive person. I always want to win, so I’m always going to push to win. But I think for me, this is more about getting used to what we call the European style of basketball.

“I think that’ll be what’s going to be really good for me. Just dealing with that extra physicality and all this stuff, and learning how to be physical myself without putting myself in bad positions and things like that. I think that’ll be the huge upside for me after this year.”

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