NBA league office looking into Sterling Brown incident

Following the Houston Rockets‘ game against the Orlando Magic on Sunday night, the Rockets headed to Miami, as they prepared for a duel against the Miami Heat on the following night. Shortly after the Rockets landed in Miami, 26-year-old guard Sterling Brown was assaulted, causing him to have multiple lacerations across his face.

Brown was reported jumped by a group of assailants outside of a night club and was struck with a bottle, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Brown had already been out of action with a knee injury but took the trip with the team to Florida.

On Monday, the team acknowledged that an incident did in fact occur, as they provided a statement, which led to more questions, as not many details were disclosed. Shortly after the team’s statement, Rockets coach Stephen Silas addressed the incident during his pre-game presser, stating that he had spoken to Brown and that he was okay.

NBA looking into incident involving Houston Rockets guard Sterling Brown

As the Rockets squared off against the Heat on Monday night, the league released a statement about Brown’s situation, while making it known that they are looking into the incident. It’s unclear what exactly the league is looking into, but it’s been speculated that it could possibly be whether or not Brown was in violation of the NBA’s COVID-19 protocol, which states that players aren’t authorized to leave their hotels on the road unless attending venues that are approved by the NBA.

The league has made it clear that clubs are not permissible and it’s been reported that Brown was at a strip club when the attack occurred.

Brown has played well for the Rockets in his first season in the Space City, as he’s averaged 8.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists, in 24 minutes of action, which are all career bests. What’s been even more impressive has been Brown’s shooting splits, as he’s made 42.3 percent from three (which ranks inside of the top-20 in the league) and has posted true shooting splits of 59.7 percent.

Since Adam Silver has taken over as NBA commissioner, the league has moved swiftly when conducting investigations, so it would seem like we’ll hear the league’s findings fairly soon.