ALDRIDGE SHOCKER
NEWEST NET FORCED TO RETIRE WITH HEART ISSUE
Nets forward LaMarcus Aldridge on Thursday announced his retirement from the NBA due to an irregular heartbeat, effective immediately.
The 35-year-old Aldridge said he felt the ailment during last Saturday’s game against the Lakers, which turned out to be the final one of a stellar career. He retires with seven All-Star berths, six All-NBA nods and 19,951 points — just 49 shy of the 20,000 milestone.
“Today, I write this letter with a heavy heart,” Aldridge wrote Thursday on social media.
“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.
“Though I’m better now, what I felt with my heart that night was still one of the scariest things I’ve experienced.
“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.”
Aldridge made no postgame excuses, but he looked visibly off during that April 10 game against the Lakers. His subsequent hospitalization and retirement put coach Steve Nash’s comments this week into proper context.
“We may not get any games with our whole roster. Nothing is promised tomorrow,” Nash said. “We don’t control that . ... If we’re fortunate to have everyone back then that will be a blessing.”
Aldridge has put together a potential Hall of Fame career despite battling a cardiac issue.
He experienced an irregular heartbeat during the final weeks of his 2006-07 rookie campaign in Portland. He was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, a rare condition that impacts the natural conduction system of the heart, according to Jeff Stotts, a certified athletic trainer and injury analyst for SMART and Rotowire.
Aldridge underwent cardiac ablation (the insertion of a catheter to restore normal heart rhythm) in 2007, and again before the start of the 2011 season. He also reported an arrhythmia in March 2017 while with the Spurs.
Dr. David Engel of Columbia University did a 2016 study that revealed basketball players have the highest incidence of sports-related sudden cardiac death among all athlete groups. Five former Nets have died of fairly sudden heart failures.
General manager Sean Marks expressed the Nets’ best wishes in a statement.
“The Nets organization fully supports LaMarcus’ decision, and while we value what he has brought to our team during his short time in Brooklyn, his health and well being are far more important than the game of basketball,” Marks said.
“We know this was not an easy decision for him. But after careful consideration and consultation with numerous medical experts, he made the best decision for him, his family, and for his life after basketball. We wish LaMarcus, Tia and their family much health and happiness going forward.”
Aldridge averaged 19.4 points and 8.2 rebounds for his career over 1,029 games for Portland, San Antonio and the Nets. Just five of those games came with the Nets (for which he averaged 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds), but he took the time to thank all three teams in his retirement statement.
“Last but not least, I want to thank Brooklyn. You wanted me for me. In a game that’s changing so much, you asked me to come and just do what I do, which was good to hear,” Aldridge said. “I’m sorry it didn’t get to last long, but I’ve definitely had fun being a part of this special group.”