NEW YORK – Raptors 905 guard Lorenzo Brown today was named the 2017-18 NBA G League Most Valuable Player in a vote by the league’s 26 head coaches and general managers.

Brown (6-5, 187, North Carolina State), who signed a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors last July, averaged team highs of 18.8 points, 8.9 assists and 1.78 steals in 32 games (all starts) for defending NBA G League champion Raptors 905.  He also averaged 5.2 rebounds and shot 46.8 percent from the field.  Raptors 905 (31-19) went 25-7 with Brown in the lineup.

In his fifth NBA G League season, Brown helped lead Raptors 905 to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.  Raptors 905 defeated the Grand Rapids Drive in the first round, the Westchester Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and the Erie BayHawks in the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA G League Playoffs.  The team currently trails the Austin Spurs 1-0 in the NBA G League Finals.

A 2017-18 Midseason All-NBA G League Team selection, Brown recorded five games with at least 30 points and 13 games with 20 points or more.  He also handed out at least 10 assists nine times, including two games with 15 assists.

Brown has played 14 games with the Toronto Raptors this season.  In previous seasons, he appeared in games with the Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns.  Selected in the second round (52^nd overall) of the 2013 NBA Draft by Minnesota, Brown has averaged 3.1 points, 2.0 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 77 career NBA games.

Brown will be presented with the NBA G League MVP trophy before Game 2 of the NBA G League Finals tonight (8 p.m. ET, ESPNU).

Santa Cruz Warriors guard Quinn Cook, a two-way player with the Golden State Warriors, finished second in the NBA G League MVP voting.  Westchester Knicks guard Trey Burke, who was called up by the New York Knicks in January, finished third.

All-Time NBA G League Most Valuable Player Award Winners

2017-18: Lorenzo Brown (Raptors 905)
2016-17: Vander Blue (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
2015-16: Jarnell Stokes (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
2014-15: Tim Frazier (Maine Red Claws)
2013-14: Ron Howard (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)/Othyus Jeffers (Iowa Energy)
2012-13: Andrew Goudelock (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
2011-12: Justin Dentmon (Austin Toros)
2010-11: Curtis Stinson (Iowa Energy)
2009-10: Mike Harris (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
2008-09: Courtney Sims (Iowa Energy)
2007-08: Kasib Powell (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
2006-07: Randy Livingston (Idaho Stampede)
2005-06: Marcus Fizer (Austin Toros)
2004-05: Matt Carroll (Roanoke Dazzle)
2003-04: Tierre Brown (Charleston Lowgators)
2002-03: Devin Brown (Fayetteville Patriots)
2001-02: Ansu Sesay (Greenville Groove)

About the NBA G League
The NBA’s official minor league, the NBA G League prepares players, coaches, officials, trainers and front-office staff for the NBA acting as the league’s research and development laboratory.  Featuring 26 teams with direct affiliations with NBA franchises for the 2017-18 season, the league offers elite professional basketball at an affordable price in a fun, family-friendly atmosphere.  An all-time-high 44 percent of all NBA players at the end of the 2016-17 season boasted NBA G League experience.  In fostering the league’s connection to the community, its teams, players and staff promote health and wellness, support local needs and interests, and assist in educational development through NBA Cares programs.  NBA G League games are available on ESPN’s family of networks, Twitch, Eleven Sports and NBA TV.