LaMarcus Aldridge
Teams
Portland Trail Blazers - 2006-15
San Antonio Spurs - 2015-21
Brooklyn Nets - 2021
Playoffs
Appearances - 9 (2009,2010,2011,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019)
Conference Finals - 1 (2017)
NBA Finals - 0
Championships - 0
Awards and Honors
All-NBA Second Team - 2 (2015,2018)
All-NBA Third Team - 3 (2011,2014,2015,2016,2018)
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Total Points - #52
Total Rebounds - #71
Total Blocks - #71
Points Per Game - #83
League Leads
None
LaMarcus Aldridge was a high school All-American who originally entered the NBA Draft in 2004, but then changed his mind and decided to attend the University of Texas, where he spent 2 years improving his game, which helped him become the #2 pick in the 2006 Draft by Chicago, who immediately traded him to Portland.
Aldridge had a decent rookie year in Portland, averaging 9 points per game, but after having trouble breathing in a game late in the season, he was taken to the hospital where it was discovered that he had an irregular heartbeat, and he would miss the remainder of the season.
He came back strong in his second season, averaging 17.8 points per game, the first of 13 seasons in a row where he would score at least 17 per game. He also improved his numbers in nearly every other statistical category, and as a result he came in third place in voting the the league's Most Improved Player award.
A few years later, he lifted his level of play again, reaching 21.8 points per game in 2011, and he ended up as the runner-up for the Most Improved Player award, one of the few players in history to be seriously considered for the award more than once. After 5 straight season averaging over 20 points per game for the Blazers, Aldridge left Portland as a free agent in the summer of 2015 to sign with San Antonio.
In his first two seasons in San Antonio, Aldridge's overall numbers dropped, but in 2017, he was able to reach the Conference Finals for the first and only time in his career, but the season ended in a sweep against the Golden State Warriors. Over the next 2 seasons he raised his level of play back up near where it was before he left Portland, but the playoff success didn't follow.
Aldridge missed the bubble portion of the 2020 season following shoulder surgery, then struggled with multiple injuries early in the 2020-21 season, and finally he and the Spurs agreed to part ways, with Aldridge being released shortly after the All-Star break. He signed on with the Brooklyn Nets, hoping to finally reach the NBA Finals and win a title, but he abruptly retired after experiencing an irregular heartbeat once again during a game.
Aldridge is one of the few players on this list to never appear in the top 5 in any major statistical category during a season in his career, and he is also one of only 16 to never reach the NBA Finals, but he played so consistently at a high level for 12 straight seasons, and was well on the way to 13 before surgery shortened his penultimate season, that he needs to be recognized as one of the greatest players of all time.
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