Today is #MambaDay, and the entire world is celebrating Kobe Bryant‘s career as he prepares to depart from the NBA following tonight’s match-up against the Utah Jazz. However, another very notable NBA player is also walking away from the game tonight.
Elton Brand, the #1 pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls, will play the final game of his 17-year career tonight, when his 76ers take on the–you guessed it–Chicago Bulls in Chicago. As a rookie with the Bulls, Brand put up unbelievable stats–20.1 points, 10 rebounds–per game, earning him Rookie of the Year honors, and went on to put up nearly identical numbers during his sophomore campaign. However, it was after he was traded to the Clippers following the 2000-2001 season, that he blossomed into one of the best power forwards in the game. Brand was named to the NBA All-Star game twice as a Clipper, and earned All-NBA Second Team honors in 2006, after posting career numbers of 24.7 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.
Unfortunately, following his 2005-2006 campaign, Brand was never the same, and declined significantly offensively, only reaching the 20 points-per-game plateau one other time from 2006 to 2016. After only playing in 8 games during an injury-plagued 2007-2008 season, Brand was shipped off to Philadelphia, where he only started more than 60 games once.
Following four seasons as a 76er, Brand enjoyed brief stints in Dallas and Atlanta before returning to Philadelphia for this season, where his career will come to an end tonight.
