Mikel Brown Jr. remains day-to-day with a left ankle issue and will not play Thursday against Philadelphia. The rookie guard sits out the preseason game against the 76ers while Brooklyn's rotation absorbs his minutes.
What happened
Mikel Brown Jr. is listed day-to-day with a left ankle issue, per the injury report issued Thursday at 11:17 a.m. ET. The designation is unchanged from his previous status, and the rookie guard has carried the same day-to-day tag since Sept. 28, when the issue was first logged as ankle/leg. Brian Lewis of the New York Post reports that Brown will miss Thursday's preseason game against Philadelphia. An expected return date of Oct. 12 is listed on the report.
What it means for the Nets
Brown sits out the 7:30 p.m. ET preseason game against Philadelphia, a game with no bearing on Brooklyn's 0-0 record since the 2026-27 regular season has not started. As a rookie, he has no season averages on the books yet. Without him, the workload shifts to Michael Porter Jr. (32.5 minutes, 24.2 points), Trevon Scott (30.4 minutes, 8.0 points), Nic Claxton (27.8 minutes, 11.7 points) and Egor Demin (25.2 minutes, 10.3 points) based on recent box scores. There is no record split with and without Brown, since the Nets have yet to play a regular-season game.
What to watch
The next injury report will show whether Brown's ankle status changes before Brooklyn's remaining preseason games. An expected return date of Oct. 12 is listed on the report. Day'Ron Sharpe (shoulder), Michael Porter Jr. (wrist) and Joshua Jefferson (back) are also day-to-day on the same report, so Brooklyn's rotation could keep shifting through the rest of the preseason schedule.
Is Mikel Brown Jr. playing vs 76ers?
No. He is day-to-day with a left ankle issue and will miss Thursday's preseason game against Philadelphia, per the injury report.
When will Mikel Brown Jr. be back?
The injury report lists an expected return date of Oct. 12.