LaMarcus Aldridge retires due to heart condition
Brooklyn Nets forward LaMarcus Aldridge has officially retired from the NBA.
In an open letter, Aldridge explained that he experienced an irregular heartbeat in his final game against the Lakers. The seven-time All-Star wrote, “what I felt that night was still one of the scariest things I’ve experienced.”.
Aldridge, who was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome — an abnormality that can cause a rapid heartbeat — as a rookie in 2007, said he feels better now after getting it checked out but decided to end his 15-year career.
Aldridge missed time at the end of his rookie season to get treated and also sat out for 10 days in training camp in 2011 after his heart symptoms returned. His arrhythmia came back in 2017 and he missed two games that March.
LaMarcus Aldridge joined the Nets after reaching a buyout agreement with the San Antonio Spurs and provided his new team with an inside post presence that was one of the few things it was missing. The 6-foot-11 Aldridge had the best of his five games with the Nets in the one before his heart trouble, scoring 22 points in a victory over New Orleans on April 7.
The No. 2 pick in the 2006 draft was long one of the best at his position, averaging 19.4 points in a career that began with nine seasons in Portland.
Aldridge went on to play 5 1/2 seasons with the Spurs and was a five-time All-NBA selection. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich called Aldridge a “consummate professional with a unique skill set and a deep respect for the game.”