In 2010, four years after a quick NBA career, LaMarcus Aldridge faced a health crisis. Her mother, Georgia, was diagnosed with breast cancer, a diagnosis she shared with her young son a few days before he showed up at the Portland training camp. Aldridge, family members told me at the time, was a rock. He told them it was his responsibility to maintain his spirit, a role he took as seriously as he did his duties as a budding franchise player for the Trail Blazers.
Aldridge retired from the NBA on Thursday, citing an irregular heartbeat he heard during Brooklyn’s game against the Lakers last Saturday, a pace that worsened later that night. Aldridge is no stranger to heart problems: in 2007 he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, an uncommon condition that causes a rapid heartbeat. A procedure caused him to miss the last nine games of that season. He needed another one in 2011, which cost him a week of training.
Aldridge signed with Brooklyn last month to compete for a championship, the missing piece to get an impressive resume. There is the 19,951 points and 8,478 total rebounds. There are seven All Star appearances and five places on the NBA All Teams. There’s his status as one of the best mid-range shooters of his generation, his 6’11 ”frame and high pitch creating one of the NBA’s most unlockable and surprisingly efficient shots.
Aldridge’s legacy is complex. His nine years in Portland were successful, but turbulent. His insecurities could make the most of him, first with Brandon Roy, then with Damian Lillard, two Aldridge teammates often felt he was competing. “The problem you have when two competitive guys pose the same way is that you don’t have a person who does everything they can to establish a relationship,” Aldridge told me in 2015, when we met in Los Angeles shortly after his decision to sign with the Spurs. Since then, Aldridge and Lillard have buried the ax. “We had a great time,” Lillard said.
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On Thursday, Lillard went to social media to ask the Blazers to withdraw Aldridge’s number. And they should. For nine years, Aldridge was a mainstay in Portland. “My second and third year, we overreacted, mostly because of him,” said Blazers coach Terry Stotts, who coached Aldridge for three seasons. When Roy and Greg Oden fought injuries, there was Aldridge. When Lillard arrived, there was Aldridge. Asked about Aldridge’s place in Blazers history, Stotts pointed to Lillard, Clyde Drexler … and Aldridge.
“I think he’s the top five of all time with the Blazers,” Stotts said.
Lillard would agree. On Instagram, Lillard posted an image with Aldridge with the hashtag #WhatCouldHaveBeen. Aldridge’s departure had long been gnawing at Lillard. “LA is one of the best players to play in Portland,” Lillard said. “I was at the peak of his career when I got here. It was at its best. I was an All-Star on two occasions. With my development, if I had stayed, with CJ [McCollum’s] development, who knows what it might have become? ”
Indeed. Aldridge left San Antonio, where he helped the Spurs advance to the conference finals in 2017. Kawhi Leonard’s injury and his eventual departure ended hopes of the championship, but Aldridge continued to produce, averaging 21 points between 18 and 19 and 19 points in the pandemic shortened the ’19 -20 season.
Lillard lamented Aldridge’s inability to come out on his own terms. But in a way it is. Aldridge played for 15 years, grossing nearly $ 200 million in court profits. He was a franchise player in Portland and a major supporter in San Antonio. His teams made the playoffs nine times, with just four losing seasons. He chased a championship in Brooklyn, but a ring as the end of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving would not have significantly improved a legacy he could finally see in Aldridge at the Hall of Fame.
He retires, sa. His mother overcame cancer and now Aldridge, a father of two, can move on with his life. “You never know when something will end, so make sure you enjoy it every day,” Aldridge said wrote on social media. “I can really say I did exactly that.”
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