40 Fun Facts About LaMarcus Aldridge

Which team drafted LaMarcus Aldridge second overall in 2006, only to trade him to Portland that day?

The Chicago Bulls never suited him up: they swapped his rights the same day for the fourth pick and Viktor Khryapa.

LaMarcus Aldridge played two college seasons for which Big 12 school before the 2006 NBA draft?

Texas had him for two seasons, and in the second he was named the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year.

LaMarcus Aldridge, a seven-time All-Star big man, was known for which signature mid-range shot?

The fadeaway jumper was his trademark across 16 NBA seasons, and it carried him onto five All-NBA teams.

Which team did LaMarcus Aldridge join in March 2021, only to retire two weeks later?

The Brooklyn Nets lost him to an irregular heartbeat that April, but he was medically cleared and re-signed with them in September.

LaMarcus Aldridge's first Spurs season, 2015–16, was the last for which retiring franchise legend?

Tim Duncan retired in July 2016 after 19 seasons in San Antonio, so the two big men shared the floor for just one year.

Which coach, in charge of his team for 29 seasons, did LaMarcus Aldridge join in 2015?

Gregg Popovich coached the Spurs from 1996 to 2025 and won five NBA championships along the way.

Which LaMarcus Aldridge teammate hit the buzzer-beater that won Portland a 2014 playoff series?

Damian Lillard had only 0.9 seconds to work with and hit the three at the horn, so a Game 7 was never needed.

Which team swept LaMarcus Aldridge and the Spurs in the 2017 Western Conference Finals?

The Golden State Warriors won all four games and twice held Aldridge to eight points.

Which Spurs teammate of LaMarcus Aldridge injured an ankle in Game 1 of the 2017 conference finals?

Kawhi Leonard landed on Zaza Pachulia's foot after San Antonio had led by as many as 25 points, and he missed the rest of the series.

LaMarcus Aldridge played himself in which sketch comedy starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein?

Portlandia sent him to a bookstore's 10th anniversary party with Penny Marshall, then named a later episode after his team.

Which Eastern star called LaMarcus Aldridge's 2011 omission the biggest snub in All-Star history?

LeBron James spoke up after Aldridge missed the West squad; within weeks Aldridge had scored 42 in a game and been named Player of the Month.

Which star center reportedly advised LaMarcus Aldridge to attend college before turning pro?

Shaquille O'Neal reportedly told him to try college first, and Aldridge pulled his name out of the 2004 draft.

LaMarcus Aldridge became the Trail Blazers' career leader in which statistic in March 2015?

Rebounds were his franchise record, set with 10 against Orlando; in scoring he left Portland that summer still second.

Which fellow Trail Blazers rookie beat LaMarcus Aldridge to the 2007 Rookie of the Year award?

Brandon Roy won in a near-unanimous vote even though injury limited him to 57 games.

LaMarcus Aldridge's first All-Star season, shortened by a lockout, began on which holiday in 2011?

Christmas Day 2011 opened a season cut to 66 games after owners and players ended a labor dispute that December.

LaMarcus Aldridge arrived in San Antonio in 2015 as a four-time All-Star at which position?

Power forward was his usual spot, though as a rookie he took over as Portland's starting center when the regular starter needed surgery.

Scoring 89 points in two games to open a 2014 series put LaMarcus Aldridge alongside which guard?

Michael Jordan, Jerry West, Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady were the only others to start a series that way; Aldridge had 46 points, then 43.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored a playoff-best 46 points in a 2014 overtime win over which opponent?

The Houston Rockets lost 122–120 on their own floor as Aldridge set a Portland playoff scoring record.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored a career-high 56 points in a 2019 double-overtime win over which team?

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost 154–147 that night, and Aldridge beat his previous regular-season best by 11 points.

LaMarcus Aldridge declined surgery in January 2015 after tearing a ligament in which body part?

Thumb surgery would have cost him six to eight weeks; instead he returned to score 26 points in a win over Washington.

Which heart condition was LaMarcus Aldridge diagnosed with in 2007, late in his rookie season?

Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, an extra electrical pathway in the heart, cost him the final nine games that season and required another procedure in 2011.

Which player knocked LaMarcus Aldridge's college team out of March Madness, then was traded for him?

Tyrus Thomas scored 21 in the regional final that ended Aldridge's college career, then was picked fourth and swapped for him three months later.

Which school beat LaMarcus Aldridge's college team in overtime in the 2006 Elite Eight?

LSU reached its first Final Four in 20 years with that overtime win, and Aldridge turned professional the following month.

LaMarcus Aldridge was runner-up for 2011 Most Improved Player to which Minnesota big man?

Kevin Love won after lifting his scoring average by 44 percent; Aldridge had already finished third for the same award in 2008.

Which retired Spur let the team bring number 12 out of retirement for LaMarcus Aldridge?

Bruce Bowen had seen his 12 retired only three years earlier, in 2012; it was the seventh number the Spurs had ever hung up.

Which coach promoted LaMarcus Aldridge to All-Star starter in 2015 in place of an injured big man?

Steve Kerr made the call two weeks after Aldridge had been named a reserve for his fourth straight All-Star Game.

Which injured guard did LaMarcus Aldridge call the heart and soul of the 2015 Trail Blazers?

Wesley Matthews, undrafted out of Marquette in 2009, tore an Achilles tendon that March and missed the playoffs, where Portland lasted five games.

Which first overall pick's knee injuries left LaMarcus Aldridge to anchor Portland's frontcourt?

Greg Oden, taken first in 2007, missed his entire debut season after knee surgery and managed only 82 games in four years.

Which former Seattle coach led the Trail Blazers when LaMarcus Aldridge arrived as a rookie?

Nate McMillan had spent 19 years in Seattle as a player and coach, and his hard-nosed style earned him the nickname Sarge.

LaMarcus Aldridge's cousin Marlon Hairston turned professional in which sport in the United States?

Soccer took Hairston to Major League Soccer as a midfielder, including a spell with Columbus Crew.

LaMarcus Aldridge went second in the 2006 NBA draft, right after which Italian big man?

Andrea Bargnani went first to Toronto, becoming only the second top pick with no competitive experience in the United States, after Yao Ming.

LaMarcus Aldridge left Portland in 2015 trailing only which guard on the franchise scoring list?

Clyde Drexler's 18,040 points stood well clear of Aldridge's 12,562, and the mark lasted as the team record until 2022.

LaMarcus Aldridge reached second on Portland's scoring list in 2014 by passing which point guard?

Terry Porter, who once averaged 10.1 assists a game for Portland, fell to third as Aldridge reached 11,333 points against Detroit.

Which center's knee surgery in February 2007 handed rookie LaMarcus Aldridge a starting job?

Joel Przybilla's injury opened the middle, and Aldridge responded by averaging 14.7 points a game in March.

LaMarcus Aldridge in 2016 was the first Spurs All-Star who began elsewhere since which 1980s center?

Artis Gilmore, nicknamed the A-Train, reached San Antonio by trade in 1982; every Spurs All-Star in between had begun his career there.

The 2006 pick used on LaMarcus Aldridge first belonged to which team, traded away for Eddy Curry?

The New York Knicks dealt the pick away in the 2005 Curry trade, so another club was choosing second when it came due.

Coach Robert Allen recruited a 6-foot-7 eighth grader, LaMarcus Aldridge, to which high school?

Seagoville got a player known at local parks as the tall kid who couldn't play; he left as a Parade All-American.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored his 20,000th career point in October 2021 in a win over which team?

The Indiana Pacers lost 105–98 as Aldridge scored 21, six months after a heart scare had briefly ended his career.

In which city did LaMarcus Aldridge grow up, playing at local parks alongside his older brother?

Dallas parks were where he learned the game with his brother LaVontae, a college player until a knee injury ended his career.

Which team beat LaMarcus Aldridge's Trail Blazers in the 2015 playoffs, then was swept by his Spurs?

The Memphis Grizzlies won the 2015 series in five games; a year later, depleted by injuries, they lost four straight to San Antonio.