BIOGRAPHY
LaMarcus Nurae Aldridge was born on July 19th, 1985, in Dallas, Texas. He is a power forward and center in the NBA.
Aldridge attended Seagoville High School, where he was a second-team Parade All-American and Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 4A Player of the Year. Rivals.com considered Aldrige as a five-star recruit. In 2004, he was No.4 best center and No.16 player in the nation.
Alridge attended the University of Texas at Austin. He went for two years before declaring the 2006 NBA draft.
In the 2006 NBA draft, Alridge was drafted by the Chicago Bulls, and then his rights were traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. In the 2006-07 NBA seasons, he missed the first seven games due to a shoulder injury. Once Aldridge got back on the court, he averaged 8.4 points on 54% shooting from the field through his first 14 games. In February 2007, he became the starting center position and improved his scoring to 14.7 points with 8.0 rebounds per game in the month of March. At the end of his rookie season, Aldridge was one of six players to be named the 2007 NBA All-Rookie first team.
In the 2009-10 season, Aldridge signed a five-year, $65 million contract extension with Portland. Aldrige was awarded the NBA Player of the Week for January 17-23 and February 7-13. On February 7th, Aldridge posted a career-high 42 points against the Chicago Bulls. In March, he became the third Blazer to receive the NBA Player of the Month Award since Clyde Drexler and Kelvin Ransey. In the 2012-13 season, Aldridge recorded a career-high eight assists against the Atlanta Hawks. He was the All-Star for the second time of his career.
In the 2013-14 season, Aldrige was the Western Conference Player of the Week for the fourth time. After an 11 game winning streak where he averaged 21.1 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.5 blocks per game. In a game against the Rockets, Aldridge scored 31 points and a career-high 25 rebounds in a 111-104 victory. Aldridge became the first player in Trail Blazer franchise history with at least 30 points and 25 rebounds in a game. He averaged a career-best of 23.4 points per game, and made a league-best 659 field goals and was voted the All-NBA Second Team.
In the 2015-16 season, Alridge signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the San Antonio Spurs. On October 28th, against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he recorded 11 points and 5 rebounds. In November, Aldridge played against the Blazers and recorded 23 points ad 6 rebounds with a 113-101 win. On February 8th, he was the Western Conference Player of the Week for games from February 1st to February 7th. Aldridge averaged 26.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks while shooting .597 (37-62) from the field and .909 from the foul line to help the Spurs go 4–0 for the week.
At the 2016-17 season opener, Aldridge recorded 26 points and 14 rebounds in a 129-100 win against the Golden State Warriors. In a game against the Chicago Bulls, he had a season-high 33 points in a 119-110 win, and it was the second-highest output as a Spur. In October 2017, Aldridge signed a three-year, $72.3 million contract extension with the Spurs, with only $7 million guaranteed in the final year of the extension.
In the 2017-18 season, on January 23rd, 2018, Aldridge was the Western Conference All-Star reserve. Three days later, he grabbed his 7,000 career rebound and became the only player in the NBA with 16,000 plus points and 7,000 rebounds. On March 21st, 2018, Aldridge became the 27th player in league history with 900-plus blocks and 16,000-plus pints in his career since he started in 2006.
In the 2018-19 season, he recorded 21 points and 19 rebounds in a 112-108 win versus Minnesota Timberwolves. On January 10th, 2019, Aldridge scored a career-high 56 points in a 154-147 double-overtime victory against the Thunder. On January 31st, Aldrige was a Western Conference All-Star reserve.
On March 28, 2021, Aldridge signed with the Brooklyn Nets. On April 1, he debuted for the Nets. On April 15, Aldridge announced his retirement, citing health concerns arising from an irregular heartbeat. On September 3, 2021, Aldridge re-signed with the Nets after he received medical clearance to return to playing professional basketball.
