Elton Brand announced his retirement from the NBA on Tuesday afternoon. He played for 16 seasons and spent the last two with the Atlanta Hawks. He spent his final year in the league coming up short of a trip to the NBA Finals. He and the Atlanta Hawks fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in four games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Elton Brand was the number one overall pick during the 1999 NBA Draft out of Duke. He spent two seasons with the Chicago Bulls before finding his home with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2001-2008. His best years were in Los Angeles. His highest scoring average came during the 2005-2006 season in which he averaged 24.7 points along with 10 rebounds. Brand averaged double-digit scoring for 13 straight seasons from 1999-2012.
After Brand's time with the Clippers came to a close, he spent four seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers from 2008-2012. The 2011-2012 season was a surprise year for the Sixers as they upset the number one seeded Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs after losing Derrick Rose to a season-ending injury. Brand was surrounded by young talent such as Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams, Jrue Holiday, Thaddeus Young, and Evan Turner.
Brand was signed by the Dallas Mavericks for the 2012-2013 season after being cleared off of waivers by the Sixers. He averaged 7.2 points and six rebounds in Dallas in 72 games played. Brand's time in Dallas was only spent for one season as the team missed the playoffs for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
Nearing towards the end of his career, Elton Brand signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Hawks in the summer of 2013. He joined a young team that was struggling to get out of the first round for the first time since the 2011 playoffs. Brand was a great contributor with the Hawks as he provided depth at the power forward position that included All-Star Paul Millsap, Pero Antic, Mike Muscala, and Mike Scott. Brand's minutes increased off of the bench in the 2013-2014 season after Al Horford was shut down with a pectoral injury. 2014-2015 was a magical season for the Atlanta Hawks, and Brand had an amazing opportunity to be a part of it. The team had four All-Stars, the Coach of the Year, the number one seed in the East, and a stretch in the regular season in which the team won a franchise-best 19 straight games.
Elton Brand showed tremendous longevity in the NBA with a display of competitiveness year after year. Brand was a Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie First Team, and a two-time All-Star.