| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1970-05-20)May 20, 1970 (age 55) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Grant (Portland, Oregon) |
| College | Oregon (1989–1991) |
| NBA draft | 1991: 1st round, 11th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Playing career | 1991–2002 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 11, 1, 7 |
| Career history | |
| 1991–1997 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 1997–1999 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 1999–2002 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 9,994 (13.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 2,174 (3.0 rpg) |
| Assists | 4,407 (6.1 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Thomas Terrell Brandon (born May 20, 1970) is an American former professionalbasketball player. He played for three teams during his 11-year career in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). A two-timeAll-Star, Brandon was a key starter on three NBA franchises before a series of injuries ultimately forced him to play his last game at 31 years old.
Brandon was born inPortland, Oregon and attendedGrant High School, where he led his team to the 1988 Class AAA Oregon high-school basketball championship,[1] being named Oregon high school player of the year. As a child, he suffered from chronic foot deformation.
Brandon attended theUniversity of Oregon, leading his team to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in 1989–90 as a sophomore. He then went on to hold several school records: career- and single-season scoring average, assists in a single game (13), single-season steals (twice), and single-game steals (eight). Brandon earned team MVP honors in 1990 and 1991. After being an honorable mention All-American, he became the first Oregon player to leave school early for the NBA.[2]
Brandon was selected 11th overall in the1991 NBA draft by theCleveland Cavaliers. After a strong rookie season, Brandon was named to theNBA All-Rookie Team.[3] He spent his first three and a half seasons as the backup toAll–Star point guardMark Price. On December 21, 1993, Brandon scored 18 points and recorded 14 assists coming off the bench in a win over theUtah Jazz.[4] Filling in for an injured Price during the 1994–95 season, Brandon responded by leading Cleveland on an 11–game winning streak. After the season, Cleveland traded Price to Washington. On February 15, 1995, Brandon scored 31 points on 12–15 shooting from the field, alongside recording 8 assists and 4 rebounds, in a 100–99 win against theOrlando Magic.[5]
As Cleveland's starting point guard, Brandon earned consecutive All-Star Game appearances in1996 and1997, the second of which Cleveland hosted. Between these selections, on December 22, 1996, Brandon scored 33 points, recorded nine assists, grabbed six rebounds, and stole the ball four times in a 100–94 win over theUtah Jazz, which was notable as he was primarily guarded by all-time greatJohn Stockton.[6]Sports Illustrated labeled him "The Best Point Guard in the NBA" in a 1997 issue, the year he led the Cavaliers in points, assists and steals.[7] He was also awarded theNBA Sportsmanship Award in 1997, for his work with underprivileged youth.[8]
In September 1997, Cleveland traded Brandon to theMilwaukee Bucks. In the trade, Cleveland also sentTyrone Hill and a top 10 protected draft pick to the Bucks; Milwaukee sentSherman Douglas to Cleveland andVin Baker to theSeattle SuperSonics, who dealtShawn Kemp to Cleveland.[9] Though Cleveland was not looking to trade Brandon, the team felt they could not pass over the opportunity to trade for a superstar of Kemp's caliber.[10][11] On December 7, 1997, Brandon scored 20 points, recorded 13 assists, and grabbed seven rebounds in a 97–91 win over the SuperSonics.[12] On January 5, 1998, Brandon again helped lead the Bucks to a victory, scoring 16 points and recording 15 assists in a 98–92 win against thePortland Trail Blazers.[13]
Despite success on the court, injuries limited him to just 50 games in his first season with the Bucks, and Milwaukee struggled without him playing.[14] Brandon was among the league leaders in steals and led the team in assists during his two-year stint with the Bucks. Though he expressed interest in playing in Milwaukee long-term withRay Allen, the Bucks feared they would be unable to re-sign Brandon or continue to lose his playing time to injuries and did not want to risk losing him without return.[15]
On March 12, 1999, after just 15 games in his second Milwaukee season, Brandon was traded to Minnesota in a three-team, nine player trade that sentSam Cassell to Milwaukee andStephon Marbury to the New Jersey Nets.[16]
Paired withKevin Garnett, Brandon helped lead Minnesota to their first 50-win season in 1999–2000 with averages of 17 points, 9 assists and 2 steals per game. However, he was often plagued by injuries and on February 13, 2002, he was placed on the injury list by the Timberwolves, from which he did not return. It was during his stint with the Timberwolves that Brandon would get to team up with and mentorChauncey Billups.[17]
On July 23, 2003, Brandon was traded to theAtlanta Hawks forsalary cap purposes.[18] He was waived by the Hawks on February 19, 2004, two years and 13 days after his last game, and he subsequently announced his retirement.[19]
Brandon finished his career averaging 13.8 points, three rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and came within six points of scoring 10,000 in his career. His career-high for assists registered in a game was 16, which he accomplished five times. He was inducted into theOregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.[20]
Brandon now runs the Terrell Brandon Barber Shop on Portland's Northeast Alberta Street, which is frequented by numerous NBA players.[21] He is also a real estate developer and is CEO for Tee Bee Enterprises and Tee Bee Enterprise Music.[22]
Brandon has two sons, Trevor, Terrell Jr, from a college relationship. His father, Charles, was a supply store supervisor forOregon Health Sciences University, and was also an assistant pastor in a Pentecostal church. Brandon's mother, Charlotte, was one of the founders of Mothers of Professional Basketball Players, an organization for mothers of NBA players.[23] Though Brandon was considered "underpaid" by NBA standards, he told his mom to retire immediately after he signed his first contract.[24]
In late February 2008, Brandon and former NFL defensive backAnthony Newman were the victims of anextortion attempt. Both Brandon and Newman received letters demanding money. Brandon and his friend, Timothy Upshaw, went along with the letter's request for Brandon to leave a bag outside of his garage with money inside (though they only placed a single dollar bill and plain paper in the bag). Bobby Hayes, the man responsible for the letters, arrived to retrieve the bag when he was confronted by Upshaw. Police were later called to the scene after a resident heard men talking about killing someone. Bobby Hayes was brought into custody and later released on bail, receiving orders not to contact Brandon, Newman or their families.[25]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–92 | Cleveland | 82 | 9 | 19.6 | .419 | .043 | .806 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 1.0 | .3 | 7.4 |
| 1992–93 | Cleveland | 82 | 8 | 19.8 | .478 | .310 | .825 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 1.0 | .3 | 8.8 |
| 1993–94 | Cleveland | 73 | 10 | 21.2 | .420 | .219 | .858 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 1.2 | .2 | 8.3 |
| 1994–95 | Cleveland | 67 | 41 | 29.3 | .448 | .397 | .855 | 2.8 | 5.4 | 1.6 | .2 | 13.3 |
| 1995–96 | Cleveland | 75 | 75 | 34.3 | .465 | .387 | .887 | 3.3 | 6.5 | 1.8 | .4 | 19.3 |
| 1996–97 | Cleveland | 78 | 78 | 36.8 | .438 | .373 | .902 | 3.9 | 6.3 | 1.8 | .4 | 19.5 |
| 1997–98 | Milwaukee | 50 | 48 | 35.7 | .464 | .333 | .846 | 3.5 | 7.7 | 2.2 | .3 | 16.8 |
| 1998–99 | Milwaukee | 15 | 14 | 33.7 | .409 | .250 | .839 | 3.5 | 6.9 | 1.6 | .2 | 13.5 |
| 1998–99 | Minnesota | 21 | 20 | 33.9 | .425 | .263 | .830 | 3.9 | 9.8 | 1.9 | .3 | 14.2 |
| 1999–00 | Minnesota | 71 | 71 | 36.4 | .466 | .402 | .899 | 3.4 | 8.9 | 1.9 | .4 | 17.1 |
| 2000–01 | Minnesota | 78 | 78 | 36.2 | .451 | .363 | .871 | 3.8 | 7.5 | 2.1 | .3 | 16.0 |
| 2001–02 | Minnesota | 32 | 28 | 30.1 | .425 | .174 | .988 | 2.9 | 8.3 | 1.6 | .2 | 12.4 |
| Career | 724 | 480 | 29.8 | .448 | .355 | .873 | 3.0 | 6.1 | 1.6 | .3 | 13.8 | |
| All-Star | 2 | 0 | 18.5 | .381 | .375 | 1.000 | 2.9 | 5.5 | 1.5 | .5 | 10.5 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Cleveland | 12 | 0 | 13.1 | .400 | .000 | .750 | 1.8 | 2.5 | .3 | .1 | 3.9 |
| 1993 | Cleveland | 8 | 0 | 16.5 | .435 | .400 | 1.000 | 2.1 | 2.1 | .9 | .4 | 6.4 |
| 1994 | Cleveland | 3 | 0 | 18.7 | .632 | — | .667 | 1.3 | 1.7 | .3 | .0 | 8.7 |
| 1996 | Cleveland | 3 | 3 | 41.7 | .447 | .333 | .867 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 1.3 | .3 | 19.3 |
| 1999 | Minnesota | 4 | 4 | 40.3 | .449 | .600 | .923 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 2.3 | .5 | 19.3 |
| 2000 | Minnesota | 4 | 4 | 40.5 | .508 | .364 | .909 | 5.8 | 8.5 | .8 | .0 | 19.5 |
| 2001 | Minnesota | 4 | 4 | 38.3 | .435 | .444 | 1.000 | 4.3 | 6.3 | 1.9 | .5 | 15.3 |
| Career | 38 | 15 | 24.9 | .457 | .381 | .897 | 3.2 | 4.3 | .8 | .2 | 10.5 | |
Brandon, a 5-foot-11 point guard who grew up in Portland and played his college ball at Oregon, was waived by the Hawks on Feb. 19, the trading deadline – the same day the Hawks dealt former Trail Blazer Rasheed Wallace to the Detroit Pistons as part of a three-team deal.
· Basketball Reference 