Jaelyn Brown's impact on the Indiana Fever this season remains to be seen. Brown signed a training camp contract with the team this February and fans have rallied behind her, but the 6'1" swingman isn't having the best season overseas in Russia right now, and it might be time for Fever fans to temper their expectations (at least slightly).
Brown joined the Dynamo Kursk in October 2024. She has plenty of experience overseas — previous teams have included Antalya in Turkey and Maccabi Haifa in Israel — but this particular season has been rough for her.
In a video published on YouTube on March 20, WNBA/NBA podcaster and news creator Mick Talks Hoops recently pointed out that the last time Brown scored over 12 points in a game in Russia was on October 19, soon after she arrived. "She is having one of the worst seasons of all time," Mick insisted.
Jaelyn Brown is still relatively new to the WNBA
When it comes to Jaelyn Brown, there are two things to keep in mind: her 2024 season with the Wings was also her rookie season in the WNBA, and she has been bouncing back from a surgery that resulted in major infection, which is enough to derail anyone's career for a short time.
Brown suffered a displaced nasal fracture during training camp with the Wings. That resulted in an infection, which kept her out of a chunk of last year's season. In fact, Brown wasn't medically cleared to return to the court until August 2024 — two months before she traveled overseas for the Kursk. So in a lot of ways, it's not quite fair to judge Brown's potential on the Fever in terms of what she's been doing in Russia, especially since her earlier records are much stronger.
The Wings' 2024 preseason game against the Fever is an excellent point in time to go back to when it comes to evaluating the damage Brown can do this season. The game was Brown's league debut, and she made the most of it by tying Caitlin Clark for a game-high 21 points. She was 7-of-15 from the field and hit five rebounds in under 30 minutes on the court — in other words, she's got the skills, and she can definitely hold her own on a Fever team that is clearly hoping to embark on a championship run this season.