Pacers rookie Kendall Brown suffers stress reaction in right tibia, out indefinitely

Brown is just 19 years old and split time between the Pacers and Mad Ants.

Kendall Brown, the 48th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, works with assistant coach Jenny Boucek after practice.

Less than an hour before the Pacers hosted the Miami Heat to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday, the team announced that Kendall Brown would be sidelined indefinitely.

The 19-year-old was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right tibia and will be re-evaluated in two weeks (Dec. 26).

This is an unfortunate situation for Brown, a rookie forward, since he needs to learn the system and get valuable game reps. Those will have to wait because with a stress reaction, a player must take it easy. Rest is typically the best treatment.

The amount of time he’s out is linked to the treatment.

The hope in discovering this now is that they are able to prevent it from becoming the much more serious stress fracture, which often requires surgery and would be season-ending. (See Detroit’s young star Cade Cunningham.)

Brown has appeared in six G League games and averaged 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He's also played six games for the Pacers, most recently a five-minute stint last week in Minnesota.

The Pacers sent a 2026 second-round pick and cash considerations to the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft night last June to acquire the No. 48 pick, which they used to select Brown out of Baylor University.

The Pacers had Brown graded as a first-round pick, according to team president Kevin Pritchard. “In all honesty, we feel like we got three guys in the top 20 and that very rarely happens,” he said at an introductory press conference after the draft.

Brown figured to spend most of the season with the Mad Ants since he needed more time to grow and develop as a young player.

And in other injury news, Chris Duarte will play in two games this week with the Mad Ants on rehab assignment.