Elton Brand

Elton Brand

No. 42 – Philadelphia 76ers
Position	Power forward
Personal information
Born	(1979-03-11) March 11, 1979 Peekskill, New York
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	254 lb (115 kg)
Career information
College	Duke
NBA draft	1999: 1st overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career	1999–present
Career highlights and awards
1999 ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year 1999 Adolph Rupp Trophy 1999 Oscar Robertson Trophy 1999 Naismith College Player of the Year 1999 John R. Wooden Award 2000 NBA Co-Rookie of the Year (with Steve Francis) 2-time NBA All-Star (2002, 2006) 2006 All-NBA Second Team 2006 NBA Sportsmanship Award
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Elton Tyron Brand (born March 11 1979 in Peekskill, New York) is an American All-Star professional basketball player who currently plays for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Early life

At the age of thirteen, Brand enrolled in Peekskill High School, where he was immediately added to the varsity basketball roster. He played AAU basketball with future NBA player Ron Artest, and by his senior year he was consistently ranked among the top high school basketball players in the country. 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 an articulate intelligence. The Governor of New York, fellow Peekskill native George Pataki, was once asked about being the town's favorite son, and he answered that Peekskill's favorite son was not the Governor but Elton Brand. 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

File:Elton-brand-duke-sign.jpg

Duke University basketball fans cheer on Elton Brand during a 1999 game against the University of Maryland.

Elton Brand

Medal record
Representing United States
World Championships
	2006 Japan	USA

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 University of Connecticut—Brand was named the consensus National Player of the Year. He subsequently decided to leave Duke after his sophomore season and apply for the NBA draft, where he was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the first pick. Brand, along with William Avery and Corey Maggette, was one of the first players in Duke basketball history to leave school early for the NBA Draft. All three entered the 1999 NBA Draft instead of returning to Duke.

NBA

Bulls

Brand was the number one pick in the NBA draft of June of 1999. He was selected by the Chicago Bulls, a team that had struggled since the retirement of superstar Michael Jordan and other key players in the 1990s. Brand quickly adapted to the challenges he faced and emerged as a calming and unifying influence on the fresh group of Bulls players. He seemed unfazed by the big players he faced, barely breaking stride from his Duke totals as he averaged 20.1 points and 10 rebounds per game in his first year. 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 of 2000, Brand shared NBA Rookie of the Year honors with Houston Rockets guard Steve Francis.

Through much of the 2000-2001 season Brand was hailed as the linchpin of a possible new Chicago dynasty, as a potential successor to Michael Jordan himself. Brand duplicated his 1999-2000 points-per-game total of 20.1 and, showing equal consistency, improved his rebounds per game from 10.0 to 10.1; his 3.9 offensive rebounds per game were the second best in the NBA.

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.

Clippers

In Los Angeles, Brand became the first Clipper since Danny Manning (in 1994) to be selected to the All-Star team.

When Brand became a restricted free agent in 2003, the Miami Heat dangled an offer worth $82 million over six years. 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.

In the 2006 NBA 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 believed that he was a strong candidate for Most Valuable Player for the 2006 season. 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.

Following his stellar 05-06 season, Brand regressed a bit in the following season. His point average in 2006-07 dropped and the Clippers missed the playoffs.

He missed most of the 2007-08 NBA 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. He only played in 8 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 contact 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. It was not to be.

Sixers

On July 8th, Brand agreed to a five-year deal with Philadelphia 76ers ., a team Brand has previously stated to have interest in, worth an estimated $79.795 million.

Player profile

The two-time All-Star Brand plays the power forward position, despite being only 6 ft 8 in tall and thus usually giving up two inches or more to his direct opponent. However, Brand has established himself as one of the top big power forwards of the NBA, averaging 20.3 points, 10.4 rebounds (4.0 being offensive rebounds) and 2.00 blocks in his career.

Brand makes up for his lack of size like another undersized power forward, Charles Barkley, using his wide and thick body and surprising athleticism for a man his weight in order to out-muscle his opponents. His large wingspan also allows Brand 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. It was not until the beginning of the 2005-06 season when Brand became one of the best power forwards of the NBA. During the off-season prior to the 2005-06 season, he trimmed his weight from 265 lb. down to 254 lb. in order to increase his quickness. He also worked on adding 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.

Brand is one of four active players to average 20/10 for their careers. The other three are Tim Duncan, Shaq and Kevin Garnett.

Accomplishments

• 2-time NBA All-Star: 2002, 2006
• All-NBA:

• Second Team: 2006

• NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2000
• NBA co-Rookie of the Year: 2000 (with Steve Francis)
• 2-time NBA regular-season leader, offensive rebounds: 2000 (348), 2002 (396)
• Clippers' Career Leader in Offensive Rebounds (1,480).

Personal life

Elton started the Elton Brand Foundation in the spring of 2000. His foundation is an organization that provides support to worthy causes in Chicago; Peekskill; 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, alongside his partner Steve Marlton, is 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. Brand attended the film's premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.

NBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1999–00	Chicago	81	80	37.0	.482	.000	.685	10.0	1.9	.8	1.6	20.1
2000–01	Chicago	74	74	39.3	.476	.000	.708	10.1	3.2	1.0	1.6	20.1
2001–02	Los Angeles	80	80	37.8	.527	.000	.742	11.6	2.4	1.0	2.0	18.2
2002–03	Los Angeles	62	61	39.6	.502	.000	.685	11.3	2.5	1.1	2.5	18.5
2003–04	Los Angeles	69	68	38.7	.493	.000	.773	10.3	3.3	.9	2.2	20.0
2004–05	Los Angeles	81	81	37.0	.503	.000	.752	9.5	2.6	.8	2.1	20.0
2005–06	Los Angeles	79	79	39.2	.527	.333	.775	10.0	2.6	1.0	2.5	24.7
2006–07	Los Angeles	80	80	38.5	.533	1.000	.761	9.3	2.9	1.0	2.2	20.5
2007–08	Los Angeles	8	6	34.3	.456	.000	.787	8.0	2.0	.4	1.9	17.6
Career		614	609	38.3	.505	.154	.738	10.2	2.7	.9	2.1	20.3
All-Star		2	0	18.0	.563	.000	.000	8.5	.5	.5	.5	9.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2005–06	Los Angeles	12	12	43.1	.551	.000	.750	10.3	4.0	.9	2.6	25.4
Career		12	12	43.1	.551	.000	.750	10.3	4.0	.9	2.6	25.4

External links

• Template:NBA-profile
• Template:Basketball-reference
• Elton Brand Foundation
• Elton Brand Pictures @ Clippers Topbuzz
• Elton Brand stories on The Los Angeles Times new blog
• 1999 Oscar Robertson Trophy College Player of the Year
• Gibraltar Films with Elton Brand as co-founding member and President