Elton Brand

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Elton Tyron Brand (born March 11, 1979 in Peekskill, New York) is an American All-Star professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers and the U.S. national team.

[edit] 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.

[edit] College

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

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
World Championships
Bronze	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.

[edit] NBA

After two successful seasons with the Bulls, during which he received the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2000, Brand was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2001 for Brian Skinner and the draft rights to Tyson Chandler. In Los Angeles, Brand became the first Clipper since Danny Manning (in 1994) to be selected to the All-Star team. As much as Brand shone through his first years in Los Angeles, however, the Clippers still remained among the worst franchises in the NBA and all of American sports.

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.^[1]

Despite an amazing 05-06 season, Brand regressed a little bit in the following 06-07 season. His point average went down and his team missed the playoffs.

He has missed most of the 2007-08 season due to a ruptured left Achilles' tendon.^[2] However, Brand made his return to the Clippers' lineup April 2, 2008 after being out since the end of last season. He contributed 19 points in his return. On June 6, 2008, Michael Wilbon stated on ESPN's "Pardon the Interuption" that Brand was interested in the Philadelphia 76ers, as he will become a free agent at the conclusion of this season.

This stemmed from an interview Brand had on Philadelphia's ESPN 950 AM Radio, where the interviewers told him how Sixers fans really wanted him, and Brand said he's interested in the Sixers. ^[3]

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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).

[edit] 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,^[4] 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.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Elton Brand Info Page at NBA.com
• Elton Brand Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
• 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

v • d • e United States squad - 2002 FIBA World Championship - 6th place 4 Finley | 5 B.Davis | 6 A.Miller | 7 O'Neal | 8 A.Davis | 9 Pierce | 10 R.Miller | 11 Marion | 12 Williams | 13 Wallace | 14 Brand | 15 LaFrentz | Coach: Karl

v • d • e United States squad - 2006 FIBA World Championship - Bronze medal 4 Johnson | 5 Hinrich | 6 James | 7 Jamison | 8 Battier | 9 Wade | 10 Paul | 11 Bosh | 12 Howard | 13 Miller | 14 Brand | 15 Anthony | Coach: Krzyzewski