LaMarcus Aldridge

LaMarcus Nurae Aldridge (born July 19, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player.

He played college basketball for two seasons with the Texas Longhorns.

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Aldridge was listed as the no. 4 best center and the no. 16 player in the nation in 2004.

Aldridge attended the University of Texas at Austin.

He declared for the 2004 NBA draft but ultimately withdrew his name.

According to one report, Aldridge's initial decision to attend college rather than entering the pro ranks directly from high school was influenced by Shaquille O'Neal's personal advice that he should go to college and then evaluate his NBA prospects.

The Bulls acquired the pick from the New York Knicks in the 2005 Eddy Curry trade.

Aldridge was selected second overall in the 2006 NBA draft.

However, in April 2006, after the end of his second year with the Longhorns, Aldridge announced that he would leave college to enter the 2006 NBA draft.

Aldridge was drafted second overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls, only to have his rights traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for their pick, Tyrus Thomas, and Viktor Khryapa, shortly after.

Aldridge missed the first seven games of the 2006–07 NBA season due to off-season shoulder surgery, but returned ahead of schedule due in part to an injury to fellow rookie teammate Brandon Roy.

Aldridge made an immediate impact on offense, averaging 8.4 points on 54% shooting from the field through his first 14 games.

He was diagnosed with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome on April 9 and missed the remaining eight games of the 2006–07 season.

Aldridge started 22 games in his rookie season.

After the loss of starting center Joel Przybilla, in February 2007 to season-ending knee surgery, Aldridge was awarded the starting center position and improved his scoring to 14.7 points with 8.0 rebounds per game in the month of March.

This placed him second in the voting for the Western Conference Rookie of the Month to Roy.

On March 31, 2007, in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers, Aldridge was taken to Providence Hospital in Portland for shortness of breath and irregular heartbeat.

Aldridge was one of six players named to the 2007 NBA All-Rookie first team; he tied for fifth place with Toronto Raptors player Jorge Garbajosa.

Aldridge elevated his play in his second season, with career highs in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals, and finished third in voting for the NBA Most Improved Player Award.

During this season, Aldridge had injury troubles due to plantar fasciitis, which caused him to miss games from December 11–18, 2007.

After the time missed, Aldridge still had some trouble with the foot but was able to play effectively.

Aldridge played inconsistently to start the season, adjusting to more defensive pressure.

He called the first 15 games "the worst funk" of his life but gradually improved as the season went on.

Aldridge developed his offensive game over the course of the season, still relying heavily on his midrange fade away shot.

He finished the season averaging 18.1 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Aldridge scored over 20 points in half of the last 28 games of the season.

For his first time in the league Aldridge nearly played a full season, missing only one game.

In late October, Aldridge signed a five-year, $65 million contract extension with Portland.

Before committing to Aldridge, the Trail Blazers finalized a five-year, $80 million deal with All-Star Brandon Roy.

Aldridge put up similar numbers to the previous season.

Early in December, Greg Oden suffered a season-ending injury.

Aldridge received more minutes and offensive opportunities as a result.

After spending nine seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, he signed with the San Antonio Spurs in 2015.

In March 2021, he signed with the Brooklyn Nets after the Spurs bought out his contract.

He retired after two weeks due to an irregular heartbeat, but returned to the Nets the following season after receiving medical clearance.

Widely known for his signature fadeaway jump shot, Aldridge has been selected to five All-NBA teams and is a seven-time NBA All-Star.

Aldridge's parents divorced when he was in the fifth grade and he was raised thereafter by his mother who worked for an insurance company.

Aldridge grew up playing basketball alongside his older brother at parks in Dallas where he was considered to be "the tall kid who couldn't play."

Standing at 6ft 7in as an eighth grader, Aldridge was recruited by Robert Allen, the head basketball coach at Seagoville High School, because of his height.

Aldridge attended Seagoville High School, where he became a second-team Parade All-American and Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) Class 4A Player of the Year.