Elton Brand Interview - 8/5/2009

We caught up with Phialdelphia 76ers forward Elton Brand for an exclusive interview to discuss his off-season progress, his anticipation surrounding the upcoming season and the best thing about the City of Brotherly Love.

How has the rehab on his shoulder going?
It has been good, I’ve got full range of motion, full strength and no setbacks at all. I’m ready to go; it’s all healed and ready.

How does your Achilles feel? Do you feel like it’s a big difference from last year with an extra year under it?
Yes, it does. My leg strength from my Achilles injury has improved and that was really important to have back. It’s about quickness, speed and athleticism, so that’s big.

What are you doing to get ready for the season?
You have a lot of pros down here from California working out, and I’ve been back in Philadelphia to train with Coach Jordan and go through the offense, which is a lot of fun. You can already see how it’s going to feel with a lot of guys getting open shots, and having our shooters out there on the court, it’s going to help out my game a lot. I’m also training with a lot of pros at this gym in Los Angeles called Hax with some other guys, including Emeka Okafor, Paul Pierce, and Dwight Howard. For our late night work-outs, all these guys come to this state-of the art gym to play full-court with with professional trainers. It’s a good facility.

So what do you think of your new coach?
I’m excited. I’ve met with him, talked with him. Like I said, he worked us out a few times. He has one of those pedigrees I’ve seen get it done in the NBA and I look forward to doing that.

What do you think of the other additions, Jason Kapono specifically, and then also getting Jrue Holiday and the return of Jason Smith?
I think having Kapono out there is going to be excellent for the team to help spread the court. Everyone knows of his ability to shoot the ball, so just being on the court they can’t leave me some space, Andre Iguodala some space. Having Jason Smith back, he had a great rookie year. He worked very hard. Jrue Holiday hopefully he can come in and give what Thad [Young] did when he was a rookie.

Do you feel eager at all to really show the fans the real Elton Brand, so to speak?
Oh yeah, I play for the fans. I play for the ownership of the team. I play for the organization. It’s a very historic organization with a lot of pride and wealth of basketball history so I’m excited to really show the fans that this is what Ed Stefanski brought me in here for. I can do my job. I’m revved up to show them I can do my job and show them what kind of player they got.

Do you feel like Coach Jordan’s offense will get you in spots where you feel more comfortable, similar to what you have had in the past where you’ve experienced a lot of success?
I’m a ball player, so wherever you put me I’ll do the best I can to win a game and contribute. I will say this, that a lot of people, not just coaches, say “Hey, you should do this,” “Hey you should do that.” I know what I can do on the court, I know how I can play and I’m just going to have to go out there and do it. That’s the exciting part.

What’s life been like as a new father?
It’s crazy, it’s amazing. Watching them grow up and screaming, start to say their first words, balance, try to talk the talk. It’s amazing. But I’m definitely going to miss some of that; I’ve got a job to do.

What’s been your favorite part of Philly so far, you got a favorite cheesesteak place or anything?
Not yet. My favorite part of Philly is the interaction with the fans. They’re passionate, they’re tough, but they’re a lot of fun. They tell it how it is and they expect you to give your heart and soul and win, and I appreciate that about them. It seems like playing with another team, like you have the Lakers around and you play for the Clippers, you have the die-hard Lakers fans. If you’re playing with the Sixers you have the same level of fans. They grew up idolizing Dr. J, looking up to the Sixers, being a part of that championship team. So now they’re older, their kids are fans and it just passes down generation and generation. It really instills that will to want to be better and want to make them happy.