Brand attended Peekskill High School, where he was immediately added to the varsity basketball roster. He averaged 40 points and 20 rebounds per game, played AAU basketball with future NBA players Lamar Odom and Ron Artest, and by his senior year he was consistently ranked among the top high school basketball players in the country and was selected as New York State Mr. Basketball. At the same time, he became something of a cult hero in Peekskill, helping his team win two state championships. Recruited heavily after his successful high school career, Brand decided to enroll at Duke University alongside a cluster of other high school stars, including Shane Battier.\n', '

As a sophomore, Brand was the dominant inside presence for a Duke team that is widely regarded as one of the most talented teams in recent NCAA history. After leading the Blue Devils to the championship game of the Final Four—where they were upset by the Connecticut Huskies—Brand was named the consensus National Player of the Year. He subsequently decided to leave Duke after his sophomore season and declared for the 1999 NBA draft. Brand, along with sophomore William Avery and freshman Corey Maggette, were the first three players under Mike Krzyzewski to leave early for the draft and not play the full four years at Duke.\n', '

On June 30, 1999, Brand was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the first overall pick of the 1999 NBA draft. In his rookie season, he averaged 20.1 points and 10 rebounds per game and in May 2000, he shared NBA Rookie of the Year honors with Houston Rockets guard Steve Francis.\n', '

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