LaMarcus Aldridge Announces Retirement

LaMarcus Aldridge has announced his retirement from the NBA.

The Brooklyn Nets forward said he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat after a recent game.

“Though I’m better now, what I felt with my heart that night was still one of the scariest things I’ve experienced,” Aldridge said in a statement posted to his Twitter account. 

“With that being said, I’ve made the difficult decision to retire from the NBA. For 15 years, I’ve put basketball first, and now, it’s time to put my health and family first.”

The statement continued, “My last game I played while dealing with an irregular heartbeat. Later on that night, my rhythm got even worse which really worried me even more. The next morning I told the team what was going on and they were great getting me to the hospital and getting me checked out.”

The 35-year-old has two sons.

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Aldridge signed with the Brooklyn Nets in late March after reaching a buyout with the San Antonio Spurs. A seven-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection, he played over 14 seasons. Aldridge was drafted by the Portland Trailblazer, who he played for until 2015 when he hit free agency and signed with the Spurs.

During his career, Aldridge averaged 19.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. He also shot 49.1 percent from the field in 1,029 games.

In his last game on April 10, Aldridge scored 12 points in 23 minutes in Brooklyn’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He missed the last two games due to a non-COVID-19-related illness.