Philadelphia 76ers power forward Elton Brand has retired after 17 seasons in the NBA. Brand made the announcement on Thursday. Brand is a former first overall pick and made two all-star appearances. After being drafted out of Duke University, Brand shared Rookie of the Year honors with Steve Francis during the 1999-2000 season.
Elton Brand Retires
Brand averaged 15.9 points and 8.5 rebounds in 1058 games with the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks and 76ers. Having not even played this pre-season, Brand is still set to collect $1 million from the 76ers.
Brand made the announcement at the 76ers training complex, and had this to say on his time in the NBA, “A wonderful journey. It’s been an honor and a privilege.”
Career Summary
Despite being drafted by the Bulls in 1999, Brand spent the best years of his career in Los Angeles playing with the Clippers. Brand played seven seasons with the Clippers and produced four consecutive years averaging 20 plus points. That spell in Los Angeles was the beginning of Brand’s best years, but also the demise of Brand’s career. After being traded to the Clippers in June 2001, Brand went from good to great.
With Brand’s rebounds and blocks numbers going up, the forward would go on to make both his all-star appearances in Los Angeles. Although the tail end of Brand’s time with the Clippers would tell a different story. Brand would play just eight games during the 2007-08 season. This would be the beginning of the end for Brand’s time in the spotlight.
Brand was traded to the 76ers the next season. The former all-star saw his numbers drop from 20.5 points in 2006-07 to 13.8 points in his first year in Philadelphia. Brand would spend four seasons with the 76ers and begin to struggle to stay healthy. Missing a total of 82 games in four years.
Brand went on to play for the Mavericks and Hawks, but was never the same player after leaving the Clippers. Brand found his way back to Philadelphia, for his second spell with the 76ers.
Many will forget about Elton Brand, but let’s not forget what Brand was. Brand played at a hall-of-fame level for the first eight years of his career. Brand could have been so much more but unfortunately, Father-time still remains undefeated.
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