Corey Brewer Credits Dallas to “Saving His Career”

Corey Brewer, a member of the Dallas Mavericks championship team, spoke to The Ringer about his early time in the league and how Dallas saved his career.

Chris Vernon, of The Ringer, set down with Corey Brewer of the Houston Rockets to chat about his early years at Florida, coming into the NBA, and much more surrounding his basketball career.

After spending the first part of the podcast talking about his time in college at Florida, Vernon then followed the timeline of his career where Brewer was drafted 7th overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Brewer talked briefly about the excitement he had to play with Kevin Garnett, only to see Minnesota trade Garnett away just a few weeks after the draft. The Timberwolves went straight to the bottom of the league where Brewer wasn’t used to losing every night.

He talked in-depth on the effect losing had on him, but then the light at the end of the tunnel came when a trade and buyout happened with New York.

"“Lucky for me, I got traded to New York and got a buyout where I could go to Dallas and that probably saved my career. Once I got to Dallas I learned what it was about to be an NBA player,” Brewer said. “I feel good now, I’m back to winning. Go from not making the playoffs to winning the championship.”"

Vernon probed Brewer about his time in Dallas and the players he played alongside.

“I got to play with Dirk which was great. Jason Terry and Shawn Marion, those guys. I was working my butt off and it was starting to pay off playing with good players. I didn’t even play that much but I learned this is what it’s supposed to be like in the NBA. We won the world championship that year actually beating Miami,” Brewer said.

Brewer went on to talk about the time he spent with some coaches that meant a lot to him in Dallas and how that was the turning point in his career. When Vernon asked him about what the locker room was like, Brewer had this to say.

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“Everybody was positive. Positive vibes in the locker room. Everybody comes in a does their job and knows their role. One goal, trying to win. You feel like, when you come in the game, when you get to the arena, you feel like you are going to win every game.”

Positivity was the word Brewer kept repeating when talking about his time in Dallas and the impact it had on him. Going from a losing situation in Minny, to winning the title in Dallas, Brewer learned exactly what it meant to be positive.

As far as the biggest lessons he learned in Dallas, Brewer answered with this…

“You got to come to work every day and you have to be positive. Everything is not going to go right, but you can’t get down on yourself. You are working for the team, it’s not about you, it’s about the team. One common goal, don’t be selfish.”

Vernon and Brewer go on throughout the interview to talk about his other stops in the league and his current team in Houston with James Harden alongside of him. Listen to the full interview here.

Next: Dirk, Mavs Still Believe in Playoffs

Corey Brewer’s time in Dallas was short, but to him it seemed to be the turning point in his career.