Terrell Brandon

Early life

Brandon was born in Portland, Oregon 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

Brandon attended the University of Oregon, leading his team to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in 1989–90 as a freshman. 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.

Cleveland Cavaliers (1991–1997)

Brandon was selected 11th overall in the 1991 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He spent his first three and a half seasons as the backup to All–Star point guard Mark Price. 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.

As Cleveland's starting point guard, Brandon earned consecutive All-Star Game appearances in 1996 and 1997, the second of which Cleveland hosted. Sports Illustrated 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. Brandon would hold basketball camps, even counting LeBron James as a 7th grade participant.

Milwaukee Bucks (1997–1999)

In September 1997, Cleveland traded Brandon to the Milwaukee Bucks. 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, 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.

Injuries limited him to just 50 games in his first season with the Bucks, and Milwaukee struggled without him on court. 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, the Bucks feared they would be unable to re-sign Brandon and did not want to risk losing him without return.

Minnesota Timberwolves

On March 12, 1999, Brandon was traded to Minnesota in a three-team, nine player trade that sent Sam Cassell to Milwaukee and Stephon Marbury to the New Jersey Nets.

Paired with Kevin Garnett, 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.

On July 23, 2003, Brandon was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for salary cap purposes. He was waived by the Hawks on February 17, 2004, two years after his last game, and he subsequently announced his retirement.

Career statistics and accomplishments

Brandon finished his career averaging 13.8 points, three rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.58 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 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 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.