Brand receives sportsman award

Elton Brand received the 2006 sportsman-of-the-year award Sunday night at a Los Angeles Sports Council ceremony in Beverly Hills.

“It’s a real honor, especially with all of the things that were going on last year in the L.A. sports world,” Brand said after practice. “It’s definitely a big honor.”

Last season, Brand led the Clippers to their first playoff appearance in nine seasons and was selected second-team All-NBA. In 34 previous seasons, the Clippers had only five winning records and six playoff appearances and hadn’t finished at least .500 in more than a decade.

Brand leads by example, teammates said, and has continued to push himself harder than ever despite his heavy workload last season and in the summer as a member of the U.S. national team that earned a bronze medal at the world championships in Japan.

In the 2005-06 season, Brand averaged a team-high 39.2 minutes in 79 games. Brand also led the Clippers in scoring with a personal-best average of 24.7 points, in rebounds at 10 a game and in blocked shots at a 2.54 rate.

In the Western Conference semifinals against the Phoenix Suns, Brand averaged 45.6 minutes, 30.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.14 blocked shots and shot 59.1% from the field in a seven-game series.

He received the NBA’s 2005-06 sportsmanship award, the Joe Dumars Trophy, given to the player who exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.

“He’s a hell of a teammate,” point guard Sam Cassell said. “You’ll never see Elton Brand in the media as far as anything negative. He’s not the type of guy who’s going to bring attention to himself, he just goes out and is that steady force for us.

“He goes out and does his work as a professional, which is all you can ask for from him. I’m just glad that he’s getting the recognition for the things he’s done to help this team win. I’m real happy for him.”

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jason.reid@latimes.com