Who is Tony Brown and how did he make an inspiring comeback to the NBA? All you need to know

Tony Brown is a long-time NBA referee who has served in the league for almost two decades. For basketball fans, he's just another referee. To everyone else in the league, he's one of the most well-known officials and is a part of the league's family.

According to NBRA, Brown spent three seasons in the WNBA and four seasons each in the G League and CBA prior to signing with the NBA. He officiated the 2001 CBA Finals, the 2002 WNBA All-Star Game and the 2002 WNBA Finals during that time.

In his first 17 seasons as an official, Brown oversaw 1,016 regular-season games and 25 postseason contests. In 2020, Brown officiated his first NBA Finals.

Unfortunately, the beloved referee experienced a dark turn in his life. A sudden paradigm shift put his career at stake and also his life on the line.

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Tony Brown fights cancer

Brown opened up about how he got diagnosed with Stage four Pancreatic Cancer in an interview with Andscape. He mentioned that he started feeling something was wrong with his body back in April 2021. His stomach started hurting and he got himself checked to be sure. Initially, the doctor assumed that it was just a bad case of food poisoning.

The pain continued for days and his wife Tina insisted that Tony should make another appointment with the doctor. Everything seemed to be fine, however, the doctors wanted to scan him some more just to be sure.

After the scans, Tony found out that there was something wrong with his body. He had a series of blood clots in his lungs which led to Stage four Pancreatic Cancer.

According to the league's official website, since his diagnosis, Brown has underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy. He battled cancer for eight months before he was medically cleared to make a return to the court in November 2021.

Brown was assigned to the replay center for two nights. Normally, he wouldn't agree to work in the replay center, however, he couldn't deny a chance to work in the league again.

Unfortunately, his return to the league didn't last very long. Brown was out of the league once again as his condition got worse. Brown feels following the game is an important part of his therapy and would like to beat cancer his way. We lift our prayers for the legendary referee.