Elton Brand (born March 11, 1979 in Cortlandt, New York) is a star power forward for the Los Angeles Clippers. At the age of thirteen, he 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. Another native of Peekskill, George Pataki was once asked about being the town's favorite son, and he answered that Peeksill's favorite son was not the Governor but Elton Brand. Recruited heavily, he enrolled at Duke University alongside a cluster of other high school stars, including Shane Battier.
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. Brand 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. The Bulls traded Brand to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2001 for Tyson Chandler. In Los Angeles, Brand became the first Clipper since Danny Manning (in 1994) to be selected to the All-Star team.
External links
- Elton Brand – Player profile, statistics, biography, wallpapers