Elton Brand: A Snowball Starts The Avalanche

Sep 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Elton Brand (42) during media day at the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

A Philadelphia 76er, then not, the back again to “Pay it Forward”. Elton Brand‘s finale was the snowball that starts the avalanche for the Philadelphia 76ers

By now you’ve heard the news. Elton Brand has announced plans to officially retire at the end of this year’s preseason, officially halting his 17 years in the NBA as a player.  To some, this is disappointing news.  While to others, the question is asked “Why did he bother?”

Good question, but to know the answer, you have to understand who he is, where the Philadelphia 76ers are, and why his willingness to return to play in Philadelphia was crucial for the team at this juncture.

Elton Brand is a distinguished veteran of the National Basketball Association.  Distinguished because he has always been a gentleman of the highest integrity off the court, while a fiercely competitive and productive player on the court.  Veteran because he has entertained basketball fans over the span of 17 years.

When the Philadelphia 76ers were struggling in the 2015-2016 season with a poorly performing team and discouraged rookies, the team tapped the shoulder of Elton Brand to set things right. His return was not about the money, but a chance to pay-it-forward.  Brand enjoyed a career that intersected with basketball’s modern legends. His was the sage wisdom of meeting the challenges of NBA play and overcoming obstacles.

Apr 2, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Elton Brand (42) dribbles against the Indiana Pacers at Wells Fargo Center. The Indiana Pacers won 115-102. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Champions Make Champions

Many challenged the team’s willingness to retain him for a second season.  But his contribution was never intended to deny a rookie’s place on the team.  His willingness to retire proves that. Brand’s presence on the team helps young players face the reality of earning their next contract. His demeanor helped connect with the questions that form in an NBA’s rookie’s mind, and provide solid answers.

More from The Sixer Sense

The Philadelphia 76ers are a collection of players seeking a cohesive identity. Each player sitting back waiting for that identity to suddenly pop into existance.  T.J. McConnell as a point guard uncomfortable with shooting, Nik Stauskas with more notoriety as “Sauce” than for anything he’s done on a basketball court, Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel trying to excel at center while neither shows much interest in power forward, and a bevy of young shooters who think volume at the perimeter is better than accuracy.

NBA champions do not try to tackle the mountain at once, but simply to seize each moment, each shot, each pass, each defense, and let the mountain fall slowly.  It’s that which Elton Brand brought to the team.  It’s that modest approach to encourage each young man to lead in their moment, to shoot when they have the clean shot, to forego the volume of playing minutes and focus on the quality of the minutes that each player gets.

Mar 29, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Elton Brand (42) lands on the scorers table after saving a ball from going out of bounds against the Charlotte Hornets during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Hornets won 100-85. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Sage Wisdom

By definition, wisdom is a quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment. Sage wisdom is the lifestyle of a wise person. In other words, its the manner by which a wise person chooses to live.

Modest in words. Bold in actions.

But while the experience of an NBA veteran on the right way to go about an NBA career does not register on all NBA players, so too the number who become good role models are far fewer.

Elton Brand excels at both.

But like everything of this life, time passes and Elton Brand’s time is passing now too.  Life’s lessons happen gradually. Sometimes wisdom arrives too late.  To win a championship, an NBA team must fly ahead of the curve.

But this is a passing of the baton now.  In the time Elton Brand wore the uniform, he has passed onto his teammates all that he could.  And so, the snowball was tossed upon the slope.

Sep 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons (25) and forward Robert Covington (33) shoot at the basket from the second floor balcony during media day at the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Avalanche

The team today is a snowy slope, and Elton Brand was simply the snowball that will get it all rolling.  Will it cascade into an indomitable avalanche, or will it play itself out still far up on the slopes?

You can never tell.

But it’s the rippling effects of belief, hard work, and solid judgement that causes others to take up the same mantra, and then even more.  Wisdom from a venerable gentlemanly Brand is the catalyst this team needs.

Brand worked with Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel, Richaun Holmes, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and even Dario Saric.   Among that group will emerge some elite NBA talent.  From that group with emerge solid NBA starters, some as NBA stars in their own right.

And while each arrived to the NBA with their own set of talents and skillsets, each arrived with uncertainties and unfamiliarities.  Elton Brand took the time to share his time in the NBA, laying before each player his own footprints, and encouraging them to blaze their own trail for others to follow.

A snowball is becoming an avalanche.

Apr 10, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown goes over a play with his team during the third quarter of the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center. The Milwaukee Bucks won 109-108 in OT. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

One spirit to find them all, and in the court bind them

The Philadelphia 76ers all share a love of the game of basketball, and have come from the four corners of the earth to play the game for Philadelphia. But as passionate as the team is, they need a mentor, a gold-standard to emulate, a person to look up to and try to emulate.

Elton Brand is that person.

As the team prepares to pare from 20 to 15, Brand had a difficult choice. He can still play the game.  He can still perform on a basketball court.  But Elton Brand is much to compassionate to ignore that his presence on the 15 man roster denies a younger player with dreams of basketball that chance.

Selflessness is not a common quality in professional sports. But it is perhaps one of the most noble.  It allows a man of vast experiences to share his wealth of knowledge with newcomers. It allows a proud NBA player to retire while he still has some gas in the tank.

Elton Brand’s retirement is just one more example of his paying it forward.  He is surrendering his seat for a younger player to try to realize the dream of becoming an NBA star.

It was the gentlemanly thing to do.

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