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The Big Man - LaMarcus Aldridge Retires from the NBA!
Brooklyn Nets Center and one of the NBA's most prolific Big Man LaMarcus Aldridge have suddenly announced his retirement from NBA as he has been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. In his Instagram post,
He quoted '"Though I’m better now, what I felt with my heart that night was still one of the scariest things I’ve experienced. With that being said, I’ve made the difficult decision to retire from the NBA. For 15 years, I’ve put basketball first, and now, it’s time to put my health and family first.” Currently, Aldridge is 35 and has two kids
Well, his career started way back in 2006, Portland acquired the draft rights to 2nd pick LaMarcus Aldridge a 2007 second-round draft pick from Chicago in exchange for the draft rights to 4th pick Tyrus Thomas and Viktor Khryapa.
Looking at the Blazers Draft history namely picking up Greg Oden in 2007 as 1st Pick over Kevin Durant, Al Horford & Mike Conley - the Blazers acquired his draft rights, and immediately he made an impact in his 1st season itself.
In 2005, Blazers were 13th in the Western Conference with a record of 27-55 and were just an average team. However, the next season post-Aldridge's arrival, they slipped down to 15th but he was included in the All-Rookie 1st team.
LaMarcus Aldridge 1st Season Statistics
However, the whole scenario at Portland changed with the arrival of Damian Lillard in 2012 as the No.6 pick and Aldridge had All-Star Seasons since his arrival.
LaMarcus Aldridge has been on the All-Star teams 7 times in his entire career and changed the structure of the franchise forming a formidable duo with Lillard. He was also included in the All-NBA Second team for his 2014-15 season.
In 2014, Portland won their 1st Playoff Series win in the History of their Franchise against the Houston Rockets.
LaMarcus Aldridge Season Stats - 2012-2015 (All-Star Tenure with Portland)
Post his trade to the Spurs, he joined forces with Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker alongside the emerging Kawhi Leonard in the quest for his 1st Championship.
However one concerning fact about the team was the squad was an aging squad and on the verge of retirement.
The Spurs Big 3 were not as agile as they were and they eventually retired as the years progressed. LaMarcus Aldridge managed to have 2 All-Star Appearances with the Spurs and All-NBA Second team in 2018.
However the Spurs never actually assembled a team that could challenge for a title post the trade of Kawhi to the Raptors in exchange for DeMar DeRozan. They managed to sneak into the Playoffs each year but were eventually knocked out in the 1st Round itself.
Post his buyout with the Spurs, this season - LaMarcus Aldridge joined the Brooklyn Nets forming a formidable superteam and were destined for a Championship this season. However, the tragedy struck and Aldridge has decided to call it quits for his career.
One of the Greats - not the best, but a centre who played the game the hard way. Never jumped ships to win a championship and at the age of 35, with 15 seasons on his shoulder, LaMarcus Aldridge has called it quits sighting health issues.
Sportco's best wishes for his life post NBA.
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