With the NCAA and NBA ban in place, he continued to play basketball in Dayton's amateur leagues, and in 1967 signed with the American Basketball Association (ABA)'s Indiana Pacers. He was the first player the Pacers organization signed when they were formed.[1] During his eight-year (1967–1975) ABA career, spent with the Pacers, Memphis Sounds, and Utah Stars, Brown scored 10,498 points, appeared in four All-Star games, and earned three Championship rings. The NBA later reinstated Brown but he never played in the league.
Brown was one of seven players unanimously selected to the ABA All-Time Team in 1997. He is one of four players (the others are Reggie Miller, George McGinnis, and Mel Daniels) to have his jersey (#35) retired by the Pacers.
On February 15, 2013, Brown was announced as one of five direct inductees to join the Naismith Hall of Fame, having been elected by the Hall's ABA Committee.[2] He was inducted in September 2013.
After basketball, Brown served as a Republican on the Indianapolis City Council for four years. He was diagnosed with liver cancer in 1996 and died the following year.[2]