20 NBA Hall-of-Fame careers that were cut short by injury

NBA Hall-of-Fame career cut short: Elton Brand

Some players build their Hall of Fame careers on the back of truly elite play; their peaks are as high as the best of the best, and then their careers are cut short in some manner that prevents them from extending those peaks. Other players, such as Elton Brand, hope to make a case based on longevity and consistency.

One of the first players to leave Duke early, Brand was the National Player of the Year in 1999 before entering the NBA Draft and going first overall to the Chicago Bulls. He averaged 20.1 points, 10 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game as a rookie, sharing Rookie of the Year honors with Steve Francis. He would put up an almost-identical 20.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game in his sophomore year.

Brand would be traded to the LA Clippers before his third season, and there he would remain for the bulk of his prime. Perhaps the first injury that Brand suffered was being forced to play for Donald Sterling’s Clippers for so long, putting up a double-double every year but only making two All-Star teams and the playoffs just once plying his trade for one of the worst-run franchises of the decade.

Then in 2007, he ruptured his Achilles tendon, missing all but eight games of the following season and all but 29 in the next due to a shoulder injury. From there, his career was marked by diminished play as he fought to stay in the league, occasionally bursting through for stretches but wholly unable to regain his dominant form from before the two injuries. Without the Achilles tear, perhaps Brand would have been able to get over the 20,000-point mark that all but ensures a Hall of Fame ticket.