 Brand speaking to the media in Feb. 2019. | ||
| Born: | March 11, 1979 Cortlandt Manor, New York | |
| Nationality: |  American
| |
| Listed height: | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | |
| Listed weight: | 254 lb (115 kg) | |
| Executive career | ||
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia 76ers | ||
| Position: General manager | ||
| League: | NBA
| |
| Years active: | 2018-present | |
| Playing career | ||
| No. 42 | ||
| Position: Power forward/Center | ||
| High school: | Peekskill (Peekskill, New York) | |
| College: | Duke (1997–1999) | |
| NBA Draft: | 1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall | |
| Selected by the Chicago Bulls | ||
| Years active: | 1999–2016 (17 years) | |
| Career history | ||
As player
| ||
As executive
| ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
| ||
| Career stats (as player:) Basketball-reference | nba.com | ||
| Medals | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's basketball | ||
| Representing the United States
| ||
| FIBA World Championship | ||
 Bronze
|
2006 Japan | |
| FIBA Americas Championship | ||
 Gold
|
1999 San Juan | |
| Gold
|
2003 San Juan | |
| Goodwill Games | ||
| Gold
|
1998 New York | |
Elton Tyron Brand (born March 11, 1979), is an American former professional basketball player and the current general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing college basketball for Duke, he was selected with the first overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls, and later played for the 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, and Atlanta Hawks. He was a two-time NBA All Star and an All-NBA Second Team selection in 2006.
Early life[]
Brand was born in Cortlandt Manor, New York. At the age of thirteen, he enrolled in Peekskill High School, where he was immediately added to the varsity basketball roster. He averaged 40 points and 20 rebounds per game, played AAU basketball with future NBA players Lamar Odom and Ron Artest, and by his senior year he was consistently ranked among the top high school basketball players in the country and was selected as New York State Mr. Basketball. At the same time, he became something of a cult hero in Peekskill, helping his team win two state championships while demonstrating a humble calm and intelligence. The former Governor of New York, fellow Peekskill native George Pataki, was once asked about being the town's favorite son, and he answered that he was not the favorite, but Brand was. Recruited heavily after his successful high school career, Brand decided to enroll at Duke University alongside a cluster of other high school stars, including Shane Battier.
College[]
As a sophomore, Brand was the dominant inside presence for a Duke team that is widely regarded as one of the most talented teams in recent NCAA history. After leading the Blue Devils to the championship game of the Final Four—where they were upset by the Connecticut Huskies—Brand was named the consensus National Player of the Year. He subsequently decided to leave Duke after his sophomore season and apply for the 1999 NBA Draft, where he was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the first pick. Brand, along with William Avery and future teammate Corey Maggette, was one of the first players under Mike Krzyzewski in Duke basketball history to leave school early for the NBA Draft. All three entered the NBA draft instead of returning to Duke.
NBA career[]
Chicago Bulls (1999–2001)[]
In his rookie season, Brand averaged 20.1 points and 10 rebounds per game. His only frustrations came as a result of the Bulls' losing record —- he had come out on the losing end of very few basketball games before coming to Chicago. In May 2000, Brand shared NBA Rookie of the Year honors with Houston Rockets guard Steve Francis.
Through much of the 2000–01 season, Brand was hailed as the linchpin of a possible new Chicago dynasty. Brand averaged 20.1 points-per-game and 10.1 rebounds per game; his 3.9 offensive rebounds per game were the second-best in the NBA.
Los Angeles Clippers (2001–2008)[]
Brand played with the Clippers for seven seasons.
After two successful seasons with the Bulls, Brand was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2001 for Brian Skinner and the draft rights to Tyson Chandler.[1] In 2002, Brand became the first Clipper since Danny Manning (in 1994) to be selected to the All-Star team.[2]
When Brand became a restricted free agent in 2003, the Miami Heat made an offer worth $82 million over six years.[3] In what was an unprecedented move by team owner Donald Sterling, the Clippers matched Miami's offer and managed to keep Brand a Clipper. Prior to this, the biggest contract Sterling had approved to that point was a five-year, $15 million deal for Eric Piatkowski in 1998.[4]
In the 2005-06 season, Brand experienced a personal renaissance. He posted career-highs in points per game (24.7) and field-goal percentage (52.7), while leading the Clippers to a 47–35 record, good enough for the sixth seed in the Western Conference. In February 2006, Brand was selected to the 2006 NBA All-Star Game as a reserve forward for the West. As a result of his individual prowess and the Clippers' recent success, many analysts[who?] believed that he was a strong candidate for Most Valuable Player for the 2006 season; however, Steve Nash went on to win the award. On April 22, 2006, Brand made his playoff debut scoring 21 points against the Denver Nuggets. On May 1, Brand helped lead the team to its first playoff series win since 1976, when the team was known as the Buffalo Braves. Although the Clippers eventually lost in Game 7 of the second round (Western Conference Semifinals) against the Phoenix Suns, the Clippers had the best season that their franchise had ever seen. Brand received the Joe Dumars Trophy after being named the 2005–06 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner.[5]
Following his stellar 2005–06 season, Brand regressed somewhat in the following season. His scoring average in 2006–07 dropped and the Clippers missed the playoffs.
He missed most of the 2007–08 season due to a ruptured left Achilles' tendon. However, Brand made his return to the Clippers' lineup April 2, 2008 after being out since the end of the previous season. He contributed 19 points in his return. Brand played in only eight games that season.
Brand opted out of the final year of his contract and became a free agent. However, he said that he hoped to resign with the Clippers. He gave up the $16.4 million on the last year of his contract with the Clippers to test the free agent waters. According to ESPN, sources have reported that Brand chose to opt out from his contract in order to provide Clippers with more payroll flexibility in hopes of strengthening their roster. This came to fruition when Clippers landed Golden State Warriors star Baron Davis. Briefly, this gave Clippers' management and the media the reassurance that Brand would indeed resign with the team.
Philadelphia 76ers (2008–2012)[]
Brand boxing out vs the Golden State Warriors.
On July 9, 2008, Brand signed a five-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, a team in which Brand had previously stated to have an interest.
It was announced on February 5, 2009 that Brand would have season ending shoulder surgery for the injury that he sustained on December 17, 2008. During the game that night against the Milwaukee Bucks, Brand dislocated his shoulder when he was knocked to the floor while going for a rebound. Brand had been coming off of the bench so that he could be slowly worked back into the lineup, but after over a month on the bench and only six games back during which his production was severely limited, the decision was made to go forward with the surgery. The procedure was successfully performed on February 9.
On February 4, 2012, Brand scored a Sixers career high 33 points in a 100–98 win over the New York Knicks. He finished his first tenure with the 76ers averaging 11 points per game and just over 8 rebounds per game during the 2011–12 season. He averaged 8.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in the 2012 NBA Playoffs in a total of 13 games when the Sixers lost in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Boston Celtics 85–75.
On July 11, 2012, Brand was released from the 76ers using the NBA's amnesty clause. The Sixers will pay Brand the remainder of whatever remains from his $18.2 million deal that is not paid for by his new team.
Dallas Mavericks (2012–2013)[]
Philadelphia decided to use the one-time amnesty provision available since the new collective bargaining agreement had been put into place, thus foregoing the final $18.1 million owed to Brand in the last year of his five-year contract and not having it count against their luxury tax or salary cap. Brand was claimed off waivers by the Dallas Mavericks with a winning bid of $2.1 million. During the 2012-2013 season, he averaged 7.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.3 bpg, and 1.0 apg in 21.2 mpg. He played 72 games and started 18 of them with the Mavericks. The Mavericks finished 41-41 and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
Atlanta Hawks and first retirement (2013–2015)[]
On July 15, 2013, Brand signed with the Atlanta Hawks. On September 23, 2014, he re-signed with the Hawks and changed his long-time jersey number of 42, to 7. On August 11, 2015, Brand announced his retirement from professional basketball.
Return to the 76ers and second retirement (2016)[]
On January 4, 2016, he came out of retirement to re-enter the NBA, citing that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski helped convince him to return to play. Later that day, he signed with the 76ers, returning to the franchise for a second stint. On January 26, he was activated for the first time, but did not play for the 76ers against the Phoenix Suns. On March 4, he made his season debut for the 76ers, playing in an NBA game for the first time since May 20, 2015. In 13 minutes off the bench, he recorded eight points and four rebounds in a 112–102 loss to the Miami Heat. On March 12, he recorded a 10-point game against the Detroit Pistons, scoring in double digits for the first time since April 14, 2014. On March 27, he recorded a second 10-point game in a loss to the Golden State Warriors. Two days later, he scored seven points and grabbed a season-high nine rebounds in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets, as he became the 51st player in NBA history to reach 9,000 career rebounds.
On September 7, 2016, Brand re-signed with the 76ers. However, on October 20, 2016, he announced his second retirement.
Post-playing career[]
On December 6, 2016, Brand was named as the player development consultant of the Philadelphia 76ers. On August 28, 2017, he was named general manager of the Delaware 87ers (now Delaware Blue Coats).
On September 20, 2018, Brand was promoted to general manager position of the 76ers. He extended his contract in 2020.
Player profile[]
Early in his career, Brand established himself as one of the top power forwards of the NBA. He holds career averages of 15.9 points, 8.5 rebounds (3.1 being offensive rebounds), and 1.7 blocks per game in 1,058 career games.
Brand uses his wide body and surprising athleticism for a man his weight in order to out-muscle his opponents. A large wingspan also allows him to be a proficient shot-blocker.
In his first years in the league, he had a few, but effective and powerful moves underneath the basket which already made him an effective post player. During the off-season prior to the 2005–06 season, he trimmed his weight to increase his quickness and added more finesse moves underneath the basket so that he could score without having to utilize power all the time. But most importantly, he worked on his shooting range and developed a dependable 18 ft. jumper. As a result, he raised his scoring by 4.7 points in that season.
Personal life[]
Brand started the Elton Brand Foundation in the spring of 2000. His foundation is an organization that provides support to worthy causes in Chicago, Illinois; Peekskill, New York; and Durham, North Carolina.
In the summer of 2006, Elton married his longtime girlfriend (and fellow Duke student) Shahara Simmons in North Carolina. Brand also played for Team USA in the 2006 FIBA World Basketball Championships, averaging 8.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
Brand is a founding member and president of Gibraltar Films, a company engaged in film investment, acquisition, production, and distribution of motion pictures. The first project of Gibraltar Films was the production of a Vietnam-era prisoner-of-war film Rescue Dawn, directed by Werner Herzog. Brand attended the film's premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.