From ballboy to the big leagues, a Seattle connection comes full circle as the veteran guard joins his godfather, Jason Terry, for a reunion in Utah.
Terrell Brown Jr. is joining a Utah Jazz organization with an awfully familiar face waiting for him.
Actually ... calling Jason Terry a familiar face probably undersells their relationship.
Terry, a member of Will Hardy's coaching staff, is Brown's godfather.
That connection adds another layer to Utah's decision to sign the 28-year-old G League veteran, whose agent Daniel Hazan told NBA insider Chris Haynes on Thursday that Brown had reached an agreement with the Jazz.
There's no reporting to suggest Terry played any role in bringing Brown to Utah.
But there may not be many coaches in the NBA who know the Jazz's newest addition better.
"Our relationship is different off the court because he is my godfather," Brown told the Greensboro Swarm's Sam Perley in January. "He's amazing."
And their basketball connection goes way back.
Brown grew up in Seattle, where Terry became a star at Franklin High School before beginning a 19-year NBA career that included a championship with the Dallas Mavericks.
Brown recalled traveling to Dallas and serving as a ballboy while Terry played for the Mavericks, "soaking up all the knowledge" the veteran guard had to offer.
The two later crossed paths at Arizona, where Terry served as an assistant during Brown's lone season with the Wildcats in 2020-21.
Now, they're reunited in Utah.
Terry joined Hardy's original Jazz coaching staff in 2022 after previously serving as head coach of the G League's Grand Rapids Gold.
Brown, meanwhile, is still trying to turn four seasons of G League experience into a lasting NBA opportunity.
And Terry's own playing career provides an interesting example.
Despite becoming an NBA champion and Sixth Man of the Year, Terry spent portions of his career adjusting between starting and reserve roles.
Brown has undergone a transition of his own.
The former Washington guard averaged 21.7 points and led the Pac-12 in scoring and steals during his final collegiate season but acknowledged earlier this year that scoring alone wasn't going to get him where he wanted to go.
"They pay dudes a whole bunch of money to score the ball," Brown told Perley. "To get where I pray to get to, it's the other things, the intangible things, where you come in and get those dudes the ball."
According to Greensboro's official feature, Brown has drawn inspiration from Terry's transition from a full-time starter into one of the NBA's premier reserves.
So there's certainly familiarity here.
What we don't know is whether Terry advocated for Brown's signing, and until evidence emerges suggesting otherwise, there's no reason to assume he did.
What we do know is Brown is getting another NBA opportunity alongside someone who has watched his basketball career develop long before either had any affiliation with the Jazz.
Whether that helps Brown earn a place within Utah's organization remains to be seen.
But after four seasons spent chasing a permanent NBA opportunity, he couldn't have landed in many places with someone who understands his basketball journey better than Terry.
