NBA: Veteran frontliner Brand retires after 16 seasons

Indiana Pacers forward David West (21) shoots as Atlanta Hawks forward Elton Brand (42) defends in the first half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Atlanta, on May 1, 2014. AP

NEW YORK, United States – Elton Brand, the top pick of the 1999 NBA Draft, announced his retirement Tuesday after 16 seasons, which included two All-Star nods.

The 36-year-old center and power forward was taken first by the Chicago Bulls and earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors for the squad, but was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers after two seasons in the league.

Brand become a tough inside player in seven seasons with the Clippers, twice being named to NBA All-Star Games, but he missed most of the 2007-08 season with a ruptured left Achilles tendon and was sent to Philadelphia, where he spent four seasons.

He went on to play one season with Dallas and two more in Atlanta, but saw only limited action for the Hawks, who had the best record in the Eastern Conference but lost to Cleveland in the Eastern Conference playoff finals.

Brand averaged 16.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 blocked shots a game over 1,041 NBA appearances. In the playoffs, Brand averaged 12.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots and assists over 40 playoff games, 30 of them as a starter.