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 (appro ...

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 league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). A two-time

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

, 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 and education

Brandon was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

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 university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

, 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. 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 play ...

. 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 professional basketball player and coach. The last coaching job he held was as head coach of the Charlotte 49ers men's basketball, Charlotte 49ers. As a four-time NBA All-Star and ...

. 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 Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

. 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

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

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, 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.

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 a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

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 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. In the trade, Cleveland also sent

Tyrone Hill Tyrone Hill (born March 19, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player and former assistant coach for the National Basketball Association's Atlanta Hawks. Hill spent four years playing collegiately at Xavier University, in his l ...

and a top 10 protected draft pick to the Bucks; Milwaukee sent Sherman Douglas to Cleveland and Vin Baker to the Seattle SuperSonics, who dealt Shawn Kemp 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 Northwest Division (N ...

. 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. Allen played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a play ...

, 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 Samuel James Cassell Sr. (born November 18, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach and former point guard who serves as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted 24th overall in th ...

to Milwaukee and

Stephon Marbury Stephon Xavier Marbury (born February 20, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who was also the head coach for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) from 2019–2023. After his freshman year ...

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 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Big Ticket," Garnett is considered one of the greatest power f ...

, 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 mentor Chauncey Billups. 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

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. Seve ...

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 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 is CEO for Tee Bee Enterprises and Tee Bee Enterprise Music. Brandon has two sons, Trevor, Terrell Jr, from a college relationship. His father, Charles, was a supply store supervisor for

Oregon Health Sciences University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public university, public research university, research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded ...

, 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 (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

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 is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, 82 , , 9 , , 19.6 , , .419 , , .043 , , .806 , , 2.0 , , 3.9 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1992–93 , 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 is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 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 U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 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 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

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

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

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, 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 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, 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 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, 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 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, 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 year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, 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 sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 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 NBA All-Stars Oregon Ducks men's basketball players Point guards

Early life and education

College career

NBA career

Cleveland Cavaliers (1991–1997)

Milwaukee Bucks (1997–1999)

Minnesota Timberwolves (1999–2003)

Personal life

Extortion attempt

Career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links