Sixers add Elton Brand as player development consultant

The 76ers have brought back Elton Brand, only this time not as a player.

The team announced Tuesday that they have hired Brand, a 17-year veteran of the league, as player development consultant.

Brand, who spent four-plus years with the team, retired just before the regular season after being signed in September.

"We are extremely excited to bring Elton Brand back into the organization where he will be a valuable resource to our young and developing team," said president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo. "Elton's leadership and character displayed throughout his playing career align perfectly with our vision, direction and culture of this basketball team, coaching staff and management group."

In this role, Brand will be heavily involved in assisting the players in every facet of their on- and off-court development, in addition to other responsibilities within the basketball operations department.

Over 17 NBA seasons, Brand appeared in 1,058 career games with 868 starts for Chicago, the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia, Dallas and Atlanta. He was selected first overall in the 1999 NBA Draft and posted career averages of 16 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks per game. His 1,828 blocks rank him 20th all-time in NBA history. He played 34,910 career minutes, which ranks him 67th all-time. Brand was also the recipient of the 2005-06 Joe Dumars Trophy, presented each season to the player who exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.

Brand originally joined the Sixers on July 9, 2008, when he signed a free-agent contract with the team. He spent four seasons in Philadelphia before spending 2012-15 with Dallas and Atlanta. Brand then signed with the Sixers on January 4, 2016 and then again on September 7, 2016. All told as a member of the Sixers, Brand appeared in 263 games (222 starts) and averaged 13 points and seven rebounds in 30.4 minutes per contest.

A native of Peekskill, N.Y., Brand was named a McDonald's All-American following his senior year of high school and attended Duke University. In his second and final season at Duke, Brand helped the Blue Devils reach the NCAA championship game while also earning consensus National Player of the Year honors.