So Long Elton Brand
Philadelphia 76ers forward Elton Brand is retiring from the NBA, the 17-year veteran announced last Thursday. Following the announcement, which came on the heels of the Sixers’ final preseason game, the team requested waivers on Brand.
In 1999, the Chicago Bulls drafted the Duke standout with the number one overall pick. That year, he earned Rookie of the Year alongside Steve Francis. In 2001, despite averaging similar numbers, the Bulls traded Brand to the Los Angeles Clippers. The following year, he became the first Clipper since Danny Manning to be selected to the All-Star team. He would go on to post seven of his best years in Los Angeles.
During four of those seasons he averaged a double-double, with at least 20 points per game from 2003 to 2007. In 2006, Brand helped propel the Clippers to the Western Conference Semifinals, posting 24.7 points, 10 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.5 blocks per game. Despite falling in seven games to the Suns, Brand averaged an incredible 30.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 3.1 blocks in that series. As a result, he was named an NBA All-Star for the second time in his career, and received a spot on the All-NBA Second Team. He also received the Joe Dumars Trophy, for excellence in on-court sportsmanship.
That year proved to be the height of his career, as in 2007, he averaged his last 20-point season. After missing the 2007-08 season due to an Achilles injury, Brand spurned the Clippers in favor of a five-year, $82 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Plagued by injury, he failed to live up to the size of his contract and, in 2012, was released by Philadelphia. He went on to play for the Dallas Mavericks and the Atlanta Hawks, where he announced what would be his first retirement in 2015.
On January 4, 2016, Brand came out of retirement and was picked up, for a second time, by Philadelphia. That year, despite appearing in a mere 17 games, he became the 51st player in NBA history to reach 9,000 career rebounds. After not playing a single game in the 2017 preseason, Brand announced his retirement.
Brand said of his time in the NBA, “17 years of playing the game that I love. It’s been great to me. I’m officially retiring and it’s for real this time. It was certainly a journey.”
To this day, Brand is considered one of the greatest Clippers ever. Over the course of his career, he appeared in 1,058 games, starting 868 of those. Totaling 1,828 blocks, Brand will go down as the 20th all-time in NBA History. He finishes his career with an average of 16 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two blocks per game.
