In 2008 the Philadelphia 76ers made a franchise altering decision that has continued to haunt the team for the last sixteen years, signing Elton Brand. After the “Allen Iverson” era of Philadelphia basketball came to a close, management sought out a new core of players that could make the Sixers a more complete team. Elton Brand was an all-star caliber player with the Clippers who averaged between 17.5 and 24 points per game every season since his rookie year in 1999.
Brand never averaged more than 15 points per game with the Sixers. During his tenure with the Sixers, they made the playoffs four out of five years from 2008-2012 but never advanced past the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Sound familiar? This was the start of the Elton Brand Curse.
What is the Elton Brand Curse?
Hypothesis: Since 2008 the Philadelphia 76ers have been acquiring Clippers players who are past their prime in an attempt to get over the playoff hump. Elton Brand was the first player we tried this strategy with and is currently the General Manager of the 76ers. The Sixers still have not been to the Conference Finals.
I understand that Elton Brand is not solely responsible for the 76ers free agent signings, there has been a cavalcade of oddballs and buffoons in the Sixers front office my entire life that have made the Sixers current hell possible. But bear with me.
Since the 2008, the Philadelphia 76ers have attempted to sign five “all-stars” that were supposed to bring the 76ers to the next level:
- Elton Brand
- Andrew Bynum
- James Harden
- Jimmy Butler
- Paul George
60% of our “superstar” signings came from or went to the Clippers, who are historically one of the worst franchises in basketball. The outliers being Andrew Bynum, who played in the same stadium as the Clippers, never played a game for the Sixers then faded into irrelevance and Jimmy Butler, who is largely considered by Sixers fans to be “the one that got away.”
None of these blockbuster signings have panned out, which is why many Sixers fans rolled their eyes when Paul George was signed and then rolled them even harder when he limped off of the court this week.
This past offseason the Sixers had the biggest roster turnover in the NBA, which resulted in the three former Clippers joining the Philly roster, all of which 34 years old or older: Paul George, Reggie Jackson, and Eric Gordon.
They were brought in to replace all of the former Los Angeles Clippers that were on the 2023-2024 team: Tobias Harris, Patrick Beverley, Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum, and Marcus Morris.
Washed up Los Angeles Clippers seemingly always have a place on the Sixers, excluding previously named players – the 2022-2023 roster featured: Montrezl Harrell. Who were coached by former Los Angeles Clippers point guard and head coach Doc Rivers!
That’s 11 former Clippers on the 76ers in the last 3 seasons, all signed with the blessing of Elton Brand who is a former Clipper on the 76ers.
The well goes deeper, since 2020 the Sixers have had at least three Clippers on the team, if you count Doc Rivers. Who could forget about Mike Scott and DeAndre Jordan?
2019 was the last time the Sixers only had two Clippers on the team, but it was an anomaly because 2018 was the year Philly got Tobias Harris, who played alongside former Clippers Boban Marjanović and JJ Reddick.
Although this is the Elton Brand curse, it appears that acquiring Tobias Harris in 2018 opened the Clippers to Sixers pipeline in a significant way. There were ZERO Clippers on the 2017-2018 Philadelphia 76ers who made the jump from 28-54 in 2016-17 to 52-30. Since then the team has had fourteen Clippers players, one Clippers Head Coach, and one Clippers GM.
No Clippers on the Sixers from 2016-2018… but can you guess who came out of retirement to play for the Sixers in the 2015-2016 season? Elton Brand. Before Tobias Harris there was Elton Brand. It was always Elton Brand.
The Clippers to Sixers Pipeline is especially heinous as it has produced many of the fans least favorite people through the years, James Harden was a tough watch, Tobias was slandered and maligned, Doc Rivers is my least favorite coach in Sixers history, and Reggie Jackson is quickly becoming unwatchable this season.
The Sixers will never make it to the NBA Finals with this many Clippers. Want to know how I know that? The Clippers are the oldest franchise in North American professional sports to have never played in a championship game. We are sourcing our food from Chernobyl and confused why it’s killing us. Not only that, in almost every instance we are trading away good young players for older players who only last 1-2 years in Philly. Does anyone think Eric Gordon and Reggie Jackson will be on the Sixers next year?
If the Sixers want to win a championship, there is only one way: Purge the team of all Los Angeles Clippers, Elton Brand included, and never sign or trade for one of their players again. Losing breeds losing and historically the Clippers are the biggest losers in basketball.
Philly Plain Dealer 
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