Thomas Terrell Brandon (born May 20, 1970) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played for three teams during his 11-year career in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). A two-time All-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.

Early life

Brandon was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

and attended Grant High School, where he led his team to the 1988 Class AAA Oregon high-school basketball championship, being named Oregon high school player of the year. As a child, he suffered from chronic foot deformation.

College career

Brandon attended the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is a ...

, 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.

NBA career

Cleveland Cavaliers (1991–1997)

Brandon was selected 11th overall in the 1991 NBA draft by the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

. After a strong rookie season, Brandon was named to the

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for player ...

. He spent his first three and a half seasons as the backup to All–Star point guard

Mark Price William Mark Price (born February 15, 1964) is an American former basketball player and coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers. As a player, he played for 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from ...

. On December 21, 1993, Brandon scored 18 points and recorded 14 assists coming off the bench in a win over the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

. 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 the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

. As Cleveland's starting point guard, Brandon earned consecutive All-Star Game appearances in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

and

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, 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 the

, which was notable as he was primarily guarded by all-time great

John Stockton John Houston Stockton (born March 26, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player. Regarded as one of the greatest point guards, players and passers of all time, he spent his entire NBA career (1984–2003) with the Utah Jazz, a ...

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

labeled him "The Best Point Guard in the NBA" in a 1997 issue, the year he led the Cavaliers in points, assists and steals. He was also awarded the

NBA Sportsmanship Award The NBA Sportsmanship Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to a player who most "exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court with ethical behavior, fair play, and integrity." It is directly analogous to th ...

in 1997, for his work with underprivileged youth.

Milwaukee Bucks (1997–1999)

In September 1997, Cleveland traded Brandon to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 196 ...

. In the trade, Cleveland also sent Tyrone Hill and a top 10 protected draft pick to the Bucks; Milwaukee sent Sherman Douglas to Cleveland and Vin Baker to the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

, who dealt

Shawn Kemp Shawn may refer to: *Shawn (given name) *Shawn (surname) See also * Sean * Shaun Shaun is an anglicized spelling of the Irish name Seán. Alternative spellings include Shawn, Sean and Shawne. Notable persons with the given name include: Peo ...

to Cleveland. 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. On December 7, 1997, Brandon scored 20 points, recorded 13 assists, and grabbed seven rebounds in a 97–91 win over the SuperSonics. 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 the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. 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. 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 with

Ray Allen Walter Ray Allen Jr. (born July 20, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in ...

, 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.

Minnesota Timberwolves (1999–2003)

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 sent Sam Cassell to Milwaukee and

Stephon Marbury Stephon Xavier Marbury (born February 20, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach in the Chinese Basketball Association. After his freshman year with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, he was selected as th ...

to the New Jersey Nets. Paired with

Kevin Garnett Kevin Maurice Garnett ( ; born May 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed KG by his initials, and the "Big Ticket" for his emphatic dunki ...

, 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 and mentor

Chauncey Billups Chauncey Ray Billups (born September 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 17 seasons in the NBA. Afte ...

. On July 23, 2003, Brandon was traded to the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

for

salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...

purposes. 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. 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 the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

in 2006.

Personal life

Brandon now runs the Terrell Brandon Barber Shop on Portland's Northeast Alberta Street, which is frequented by numerous NBA players. He is also a real estate developer and serves as CEO for Tee Bee Enterprises and Tee Bee Enterprise Music. Brandon has a son, Trevor, from a college relationship. His father, Charles, was a supply store supervisor for Oregon 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. Though Brandon was considered "underpaid" by NBA standards, he told his mom to retire immediately after he signed his first contract.

Extortion attempt

In late February 2008, Brandon and former NFL defensive back Anthony Newman were the victims of an

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

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.

Career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1991–92 , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

, 82 , , 9 , , 19.6 , , .419 , , .043 , , .806 , , 2.0 , , 3.9 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 8 , , 19.8 , , .478 , , .310 , , .825 , , 2.2 , , 3.7 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1993–94 , style="text-align:left;",

, 73 , , 10 , , 21.2 , , .420 , , .219 , , .858 , , 2.2 , , 3.8 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 8.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;",

, 67 , , 41 , , 29.3 , , .448 , , .397 , , .855 , , 2.8 , , 5.4 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1995–96 , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 75 , , 34.3 , , .465 , , .387 , , .887 , , 3.3 , , 6.5 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , 19.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1996–97 , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 78 , , 36.8 , , .438 , , .373 , , .902 , , 3.9 , , 6.3 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , 19.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1997–98 , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, 50 , , 48 , , 35.7 , , .464 , , .333 , , .846 , , 3.5 , , 7.7 , , 2.2 , , .3 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1998–99 , style="text-align:left;",

, 15 , , 14 , , 33.7 , , .409 , , .250 , , .839 , , 3.5 , , 6.9 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1998–99 , style="text-align:left;",

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

, 21 , , 20 , , 33.9 , , .425 , , .263 , , .830 , , 3.9 , , 9.8 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1999–00 , style="text-align:left;",

, 71 , , 71 , , 36.4 , , .466 , , .402 , , .899 , , 3.4 , , 8.9 , , 1.9 , , .4 , , 17.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2000–01 , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 78 , , 36.2 , , .451 , , .363 , , .871 , , 3.8 , , 7.5 , , 2.1 , , .3 , , 16.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 28 , , 30.1 , , .425 , , .174 , , .988 , , 2.9 , , 8.3 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , 12.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 724 , , 480 , , 29.8 , , .448 , , .355 , , .873 , , 3.0 , , 6.1 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 13.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 2 , , 0 , , 18.5 , , .381, , .375 , , 1.000 , , 2.9 , , 5.5 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , 10.5

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 12 , , 0 , , 13.1 , , .400 , , .000 , , .750 , , 1.8 , , 2.5 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 8 , , 0 , , 16.5 , , .435 , , .400 , , 1.000 , , 2.1 , , 2.1 , , .9 , , .4 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 18.7 , , .632 , , , , .667 , , 1.3 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .0 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 41.7 , , .447 , , .333 , , .867 , , 3.0 , , 8.0 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 19.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 40.3 , , .449 , , .600 , , .923 , , 7.5 , , 7.0 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , 19.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 40.5 , , .508 , , .364 , , .909 , , 5.8 , , 8.5 , , .8 , , .0 , , 19.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 38.3 , , .435 , , .444 , , 1.000 , , 4.3 , , 6.3 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , 15.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 38 , , 15 , , 24.9 , , .457 , , .381 , , .897 , , 3.2 , , 4.3 , , .8 , , .2 , , 10.5

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandon, Terrell 1970 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players African Americans in Oregon American men's basketball players Basketball players from Portland, Oregon Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Grant High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Milwaukee Bucks players Minnesota Timberwolves players National Basketball Association All-Stars Oregon Ducks men's basketball players Point guards