Koby Brea
{{Short description|Dominican-American basketball player}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Koby Brea
| image =
| alt =
| number = 14
| team = Phoenix Suns
| position = Shooting guard
| league = NBA
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2002|11|6}}
| birth_place = The Bronx, New York, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 7
| weight_lb = 215
| high_school =
- Norman Thomas
(Manhattan, New York) - Monsignor Scanlan
(The Bronx, New York)
| college =
| draft_year = 2025
| draft_round = 2
| draft_pick = 41
| draft_team = Golden State Warriors
| draft_league =
| career_start = 2025
| years1 = {{nbay|2025|start}}–present
| team1 = Phoenix Suns
| highlights =
- 2× Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year (2022, 2024)
}}
Koby Brea (born November 6, 2002) is an American-born Dominican professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats and the Dayton Flyers. He was drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the 41st pick in the second round of the 2025 NBA draft.
Early life
Brea was born on November 6, 2002, in The Bronx.{{Cite web|url=https://www.proballers.com/basketball/player/232864/koby-brea|website=Proballers.com|title=Koby Brea}} His parents are both from the Dominican Republic & he was raised in Washington Heights, NY.{{Cite news|url=https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/archdeacon-brea-brings-dominican-pride-to-dayton-hoops/4T23ZNPACNCK3D62JKGYCEELKQ/|newspaper=Dayton Daily News|title=Archdeacon: Brea brings Dominican pride to Dayton hoops|date=February 23, 2022|author=Archdeacon, Tom}} He attended Norman Thomas High School in Manhattan as a freshman but was cut from the basketball team. He then transferred to Monsignor Scanlan High School as a sophomore and played for the junior varsity team. He then made the varsity as a junior and averaged 18.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.{{Cite web|url=https://ukathletics.com/sports/mbball/roster/player/koby-brea/|publisher=Kentucky Wildcats|title=Koby Brea}} He was team captain as a senior and averaged 20.8 points and 7.8 rebounds while being named second-team All-New York. He committed to play college basketball for the Dayton Flyers.{{Cite news|url=https://www.elcaribe.com.do/destacado/el-dominicano-koby-brea-la-nueva-promesa-del-basquetbol/|newspaper=El Caribe|title=El dominicano Koby Brea, la nueva promesa del básquetbol|trans-title=Dominican Koby Brea, the new promise of basketball|date=June 23, 2020}}
College career
Brea averaged 2.9 points per game as a freshman at Dayton in 2020–21 in limited playing time.{{Cite news|url=https://collegesportswire.usatoday.com/lists/transfer-portal-koby-brea-dayton-college-basketball/|newspaper=USA Today|title=5 potential landing spots for Dayton grad transfer Koby Brea|date=April 16, 2024|author=Patton, Andy}} In 2021–22, he averaged 8.1 points and made 42.3% of his three-point shots, being named the Atlantic 10 Conference Sixth Man of the Year.{{Cite news|url=https://www.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-basketball-men/article290533374.html|newspaper=Lexington Herald-Leader|title=One new Kentucky Wildcat went from a wheelchair to the nation’s top 3-point shooter|date=July 30, 2024|author=Roberts, Ben}} However, he learned that he suffered stress fractures in his legs following the season and opted not to have surgery, leading him to miss practice and the start of the 2022–23 season recovering. He averaged 6.8 points and 3.3 rebounds that season while appearing in 28 games.{{Cite news|url=https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/two-dayton-guards-will-undergo-offseason-surgeries/HUZ3YZKQYFBV3EEPC3O4CHSMSI/|newspaper=Dayton Daily News|title=Two Dayton guards will undergo offseason surgeries|date=March 27, 2023|author=Jablonski, David|url-access=subscription}} His three-point percentage dropped to 37.0% and he played through pain as the season went on, opting to get surgery following the season.{{Cite news|url=https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/dayton-guards-traveling-long-road-back-to-court-after-offseason-surgeries/EMYBN3WX7JFXFFS4OSVRNJ7GA4/|newspaper=Dayton Daily News|title=Dayton guards traveling long road back to court after offseason surgeries|date=July 30, 2023|author=Jablonski, David|url-access=subscription}} He had metal rods inserted into his legs and spent several weeks in a wheelchair.
Brea returned for the 2023–24 season and appeared in all 33 games, averaging 11.1 points. He was the national leader in three-point percentage, making 49.8% of his attempts.{{Cite web|url=https://www.slamonline.com/college-hs/koby-brea-slam-252/|website=Slam|title=Washington Heights Native Koby Brea Talks Realizing His Dream at Kentucky and Overcoming Obstacles as Best Shooter in College Basketball|author=Ebanks, Jared|date=October 22, 2024}} He helped the team reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament and was named the Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year for a second time, being one of only two to accomplish the feat.{{Cite news|url=https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/a-10s-top-sixth-man-brea-expects-to-return-for-fifth-season-at-ud/EHH5PX5CCRGLJPQKMIZNVHRHAY/|newspaper=Dayton Daily News|title=A-10′s top sixth man, Brea, expects to return for fifth season at UD|date=March 12, 2024|author=Jablonski, David|url-access=subscription}}
Brea transferred to the Kentucky Wildcats for his final season of college basketball in 2024–25.{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/40063992/dayton-transfer-koby-brea-brings-3-point-prowess-kentucky|publisher=ESPN|title=Dayton transfer Koby Brea brings 3-point prowess to Kentucky|author=Givony, Jonathan|date=May 1, 2024}} He averaged 11.6 points per game and led the Southeastern Conference in three-point shooting at 43.5 percent.{{cite news |last1=Kalland |first1=Robby |title=Road to the draft: Kentucky's sharp-shooting Koby Brea ready for any role in NBA thanks to college journey |url=https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/road-to-the-draft-kentuckys-sharp-shooting-koby-brea-ready-for-any-role-in-nba-thanks-to-college-journey/ |access-date=June 29, 2025 |work=CBS Sports |date=June 23, 2025}}
Professional career
Brea was drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the 41st pick in the second round of the 2025 NBA draft, and traded to the Phoenix Suns, in exchange for the draft rights to the 52nd (Alex Toohey) and 59th (Jahmai Mashack) picks.{{cite news |last1=Allred |first1=Damon |title=Suns pick Kentucky G Koby Brea via Warriors at 41st overall in 2nd round of NBA Draft |url=https://arizonasports.com/nba/phoenix-suns/koby-brea-41/3588410/ |access-date=June 29, 2025 |work=Arizona Sports |date=June 26, 2025}} The trade to the Suns become official on July 6, 2025.{{cite news |title=PHOENIX SUNS ACQUIRE DILLON BROOKS, JALEN GREEN AND DRAFT RIGHTS TO KHAMAN MALUACH, RASHEER FLEMING AND KOBY BREA IN SEVEN-TEAM TRADE |url=https://www.nba.com/suns/news/phoenix-suns-acquire-dillon-brooks-jalen-green-and-draft-rights-to-khaman-maluach-rasheer-fleming-and-koby-brea-in-seven-team-trade |access-date=July 6, 2025 |work=NBA.com |date=July 6, 2025}}
International career
Brea was a member of the Dominican U17 basketball team in 2019, averaging 9.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists and competing in the U17 Centrobasket tournament.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{2025 NBA draft}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brea, Koby}}
Category:21st-century American sportsmen
Category:American sportspeople of Dominican Republic descent
Category:Basketball players from the Bronx
Category:Dayton Flyers men's basketball players
Category:Golden State Warriors draft picks