When Lakers center Chris Mihm went down with a season-ending ankle injury on March 12, 2006, Brown took over the starting center position. During his stint as a center, he raised his averages from 6.1 points and 6.3 rebounds to 12.3 points and 9.1 rebounds and started every game for the Lakers in the playoffs. Brown became a central part of the Lakers seven-game series with the Phoenix Suns. Although they ended up losing the series, it had appeared that Kwame Brown's potential was beginning to show. The surprising consistency Brown showed while playing center prompted Phil Jackson to make Brown the starting center in the 2006–2007 season. Brown was injured at the beginning of the season and Mihm was also out with injury for the whole season, so the starting job at center was given to the young Andrew Bynum. After playing the majority of the minutes at center despite the bench role, he was given the starting job in early December. Brown again became injured in the 2007–08 season which allowed Bynum to start again at the center position where he flourished until being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2012. However, when Bynum suffered a knee injury that appeared to jeopardize the Lakers' playoff chances, Brown regained his starting position. As a starter, Brown disappointed many Laker fans, with his lackluster performance and apparent lack of focus during games, highlighted by one game where he missed an open dunk and registered more turnovers (7) than rebounds (6) en route to a Lakers loss. Though Kobe Bryant stuck by his teammate after the game and rebuked Lakers fans who booed Brown, it increasingly appeared that the chances that Brown would realize his potential were diminishing and with them the Lakers' chances of making the playoffs that year.