Elton Brand Retires After 17 Seasons

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

In what would truly appear to be the end (although we’ve been fooled before) of an impressive NBA career spanning nearly 2 decades, Elton Brand announced his retirement yesterday. In typical Ol’ School Chevy fashion, it was an understated affair during the team’s media session, free of the pomp and circumstance often associated with these things nowadays. The entire Sixers team was on hand to give him a round of applause and wish him well.

Brand had signed with the Sixers on a 1-year deal for $1.55M prior to training camp. He will still receive just under $1M of that as part of the guaranteed portion of the contract. That’s not a bad haul for about a month’s worth of practice; Brand did not appear in a preseason game with the team.

Although he has become a token figure for veteran leadership, let’s not overlook all that Brand accomplished in his 17-year career. Here are a few of the accumulated statistics for where he currently stands in NBA history:

• 96th in Points
• 18th in Offensive Rebounds
• 42nd in Defensive Rebounds
• 51st in Total Rebounds
• 20th in Blocks
• 35th in Value over Replacement Player

According to anyone who had the pleasure of interacting with him, Brand was also as gracious and classy as they come off the court. There’s a reason the Sixers were so desperate to have him around to provide a positive influence on the young big men. Any young player would be lucky to have the kind of impact on and off the court that Brand had since entering the league out of Duke. Best of luck in any future endeavors, Ol’ School Chevy. I hope to see you on the Sixers coaching staff in the not-too-distant future.

Brand’s retirement means guys like Hollis Thompson and Nik Stauskas can breathe a sigh of relief heading into tonight’s preseason finale. His late inclusion to the 20-man roster ahead of training camp had meant one of last year’s players would not be making cut. Now though, barring something unexpected like Brandon Paul making the team or Philadelphia picking someone completely new off waivers, the 15-man roster heading into the season looks set.