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| Portland Trail Blazers – No. 12 | |
| Power forward Center |
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| Born | July 19, 1985 Dallas, Texas |
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| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| League | NBA |
| High school | Seagoville High School |
| College | Texas |
| Draft | 2nd overall, 2006 Chicago Bulls |
| Pro career | 2006–present |
| Awards | 2007 NBA All-Rookie Team |
| Profile | Info Page |
LaMarcus Nurae Aldridge (born July 19, 1985, in Dallas, Texas) is an American professional basketball player with the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. He is a 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) power forward–center.
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Playing career
Aldridge attended Seagoville High School, where he became a Parade All-American and Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) Class 4A Player of the Year prior to graduating in 2004 and attending the University of Texas at Austin.[1] He declared for the 2004 NBA Draft but ultimately withdrew his name.[2] 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.[3] However, in April 2006, near the end of his second year at UT, Aldridge announced that he would leave college to enter the 2006 NBA Draft.[4]
NBA Draft
Aldridge was drafted 2nd overall in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls, only to have his draft rights traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for their pick, Tyrus Thomas and Viktor Khryapa, shortly after. The Bulls acquired the pick from the New York Knicks in the 2005 Eddy Curry trade.
Rookie season
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. 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 alongside 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. He was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome on April 9, 2007, and missed the remaining eight games of the 2006–07 season.[5]
Aldridge was one of six players named to the 2007 NBA All-Rookie first team; he tied for fifth place along with Toronto Raptors player Jorge Garbajosa.[6]
Heart ailment
During the end of the 2006–2007 season he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a heart ailment. He missed the rest of the regular season in order to monitor the problem and correct it. [7]
2007–08 season
Aldridge increased his play in his sophomore year, with career highs in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals, and finished third in voting for the Most Improved Player award. [8] During this season, Aldridge had injury troubles due to plantar fasciitis, which caused him to miss games from December 11 to December 18, 2007. [9] After the time missed, Aldridge still had some trouble with the foot but was able to play effectively.
Personal
During the basketball season, Aldridge lives in the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego. In the offseason, he splits his time between Lake Oswego and his hometown of Dallas, Texas.[10] In April 2009, Aldridge's son Jaylen Lea Aldridge was born. Aldridge is separated from the boy's mother, who lives with the boy in San Antonio, Texas.[10]
Awards and honors
Career highs
- Points: 36 on December 31, 2007 against the Utah Jazz.
- Rebounds: 18 on April 3, 2009 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
- Assists: 7 on March 22, 2008 against the Los Angeles Clippers.
- Blocks: 5 on November 30, 2007 against the Dallas Mavericks. (Matched 2 times)
- Steals: 4 on November 12, 2008 against the Miami Heat.
NBA career statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | Portland | 63 | 22 | 22.1 | .503 | .000 | .722 | 5.0 | .4 | .3 | 1.2 | 9.0 |
| 2007–08 | Portland | 76 | 76 | 34.9 | .484 | .143 | .762 | 7.6 | 1.6 | .7 | 1.2 | 17.8 |
| 2008–09 | Portland | 81 | 81 | 37.1 | .484 | .250 | .781 | 7.5 | 1.9 | .9 | .9 | 18.1 |
| Career | 220 | 179 | 32.0 | .487 | .216 | .764 | 6.8 | 1.4 | .7 | 1.1 | 15.4 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | Portland | 6 | 6 | 39.5 | .490 | .250 | .700 | 7.5 | 1.3 | .5 | 1.7 | 19.5 |
| Career | 6 | 6 | 39.5 | .490 | .250 | .700 | 7.5 | 1.3 | .5 | 1.7 | 19.5 |
References
- ^ Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau. Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau Tout "Big 12. Big D. Big Time." (press release for return of Big 12 championships to Dallas), March 3, 2006
- ^ Fifty-Three Early Entry Candidates Withdraw
- ^ Consensus Is That This Draft Has No Clear No. 1, Published June 27, 2006
- ^ Texas' Aldridge declares for NBA draft, Associated Press, April 19, 2006
- ^ LaMarcus Aldridge Update
- ^ Roy Headlines 2006-07 NBA T-Mobile All-Rookie Team, nba.com, 8 May 2007, accessed 12 May 2007.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Quick, Jason. "Turkoglu wins M.I.P.; Aldridge 3rd". The Oregonian. http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/04/turkoglu_wins_mip_aldridge_3rd.html. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
- ^ Quick, Jason. "BREAKING NEWS: Aldridge out at least a week". The Oregonian. http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2007/12/breaking_news_aldridge_out_at.html. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ a b Quick, Jason (2009-07-01). "'Faith' keeps LaMarcus Aldridge confident he'll stay with Blazers". The Oregonian. http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/06/rip_city_revival_faith_keeps_l.html. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
External links
- www.lamarcusaldridge.com - LaMarcus Aldridge's Official Website
- LaMarcus Aldridge Info Page at NBA.com
- LaMarcus Aldridge Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
- Aldridge Leaves Early @ The Daily Texan Online
- LaMarcus Aldridge profile @ texassports.com
- LaMarcus Aldridge NBA Draft Scouting Report @ DraftExpress.com
- LaMarcus Aldridge player profile @ sports.espn.go.com
- LaMarcus Aldridge player profile @ usabasketball.com
- LaMarcus Aldridge NBA highlights @ Blazersclip.com
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