LA Clippers best power forwards in franchise history: 2) Elton Brand
Elton Brand entered the NBA as the number one overall draft pick by the Chicago Bulls in 1999 after a stellar career at Duke anchoring arguably one of the greatest college basketball teams of all time.
He was named 1999-00 Rookie of the Year and spend the first two seasons of his professional career with the Bulls until he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Tyson Chandler and Brian Skinner on June 27, 2001.
Brand quickly became the centerpiece of a young, exciting Clippers core that also featured Lamar Odom, Corey Maggette, Quentin Richardson, and more. He was named an All-Star in his first season in Los Angeles, a feat he would repeat again in the 2005-06 NBA season when he would also help lead the team to their first playoff series victory since their days in Buffalo on his way to being named All-NBA Second Team.
He spent seven total seasons with the Clippers, posting averages of 20.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game as one of the league’s most consistent double-double threats. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that the team decided to match a six-year, $82 million offer by the Miami Heat when Brand became a restricted free agent in 2003. The team (mostly due to then-owner Donald Sterling) did not have a stellar reputation when it came to spending money to retain star players.
Brand would miss most of his final season in Los Angeles after suffering a ruptured left Achilles’ tendon. He’d later opt out of the final year of his contract and sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, a team he currently serves as General Manager.
Brand is eighth all-time in games played for the Clippers, ranking fourth in minutes, second overall in rebounds, fourth in points, and third in blocks. In terms of advanced statistics, he’s ranked third in franchise history in both PER and Win Shares, second in Box Plus/Minus and Value Over Replacement Player.