Second-round picks aren't guaranteed much in the NBA. Most of them sign two-way contracts and have to scratch and claw their way through the G-League before earning an NBA opportunity that may never come.
Scratching and clawing are nothing new for Duke's Maliq Brown. It's in his DNA.
Brown is a natural-born glue-guy. He's the player who is going to do all the little things that don't always show up in the box score. He did that for the Blue Devils over the last two seasons, earning much-deserved recognition in 2025-26 by earning the ACC's Defensive Player of the Year award.
He is prepared to do the same type of stuff at the next level.
After being selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the 44th overall pick in the draft, Brown knows exactly what he's going to have to do to earn his spot in the NBA.
When asked about what he hopes to achieve during his rookie season at his introductory press conference in San Antonio, he gave the most Maliq Brown answer of all time:
"Just figuring out my role, just doing whatever I can to help the team in as many ways as possible, just coming in every day and trying to learn as much as I can," Brown said.
Maliq Brown is ready to put in the work to try to make the San Antonio Spurs' roster
A full roster spot for Brown right away with the Spurs as a second-round pick seems unlikely. The defending Western Conference champions have a roster loaded with young talent. Brown will almost certainly sign a two-way contract, which will allow him to split time between the G-League and the NBA.
Players on two-way contracts are eligible to be active for up to 50 games with the NBA team. The Spurs will probably have Brown spend a considerable amount of time in Austin with their G-League affiliate as they look to develop his offensive game. His swing skill will be his three-point shooting. If he can develop a reliable outside jumper, then Brown is going to be a highly impactful player in the NBA.
But there's little doubt that Brown could help the Spurs next season. He'll be an impactful player on the defensive end of the court the first moment he puts on a San Antonio jersey. It's just what he does. He can have a "specialist" role at the next level, if nothing else, even if the offensive game never comes around.
Brown is capable of guarding every single position. He's a game-wrecking defender.
It won't take long for his infectious energy and effort to make him a fan-favorite in San Antonio, just like it did in Durham.
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