LaMarcus Aldridge

LaMarcus Nurae Aldridge is a professional basketball player currently signed as a power forward/center the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born on July 19, 1985 in Dallas, Texas.

Aldridge was drafted 2nd overall in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls. His draft rights were traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for their pick, Tyrus Thomas and Viktor Khryapa, shortly after. The Bulls had acquired the pick from the New York Knicks in the 2005 Eddy Curry trade.

Aldridge has played for the Trail Blazers since 2006, averaging 15.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Along with Brandon Roy, he serves as a co-team captain for the Trail Blazers.

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. He declared for the 2004 NBA Draft but ultimately withdrew his name.

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. 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.

Rookie Season

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.

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. 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.


Sophomore 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. During this season, Aldridge had injury troubles due to plantar fasciitis, which caused him to miss games from December 11 to December 18, 2007. After the time missed, Aldridge still had some trouble with the foot but was able to play effectively.