Nets’ Aldridge retires due to heart problems
Brooklyn Nets center-forward LaMarcus Aldridge announced his sudden retirement from the NBA on Thursday after 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 on Twitter.
“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 is 35 years old and has two children.
Aldridge reached a buyout with the San Antonio Spurs in late March, and after he cleared waivers, he signed with the Nets, who are expected to compete for the Eastern Conference championship.
Aldridge is a seven-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection and played 14-plus seasons in the league.
He started his career in Portland, signed with San Antonio in free agency in 2015 and then joined the Nets for what he hoped would be a championship push.
He averaged 19.4 points and 8.2 rebounds and shot 49.1% from the field in 1,029 career games.
In 2007, Aldridge was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a heart disorder which is “an extra electrical pathway between your heart's upper and lower chambers causes a rapid heartbeat.
“… The episodes of fast heartbeats usually aren't life-threatening, but serious heart problems can occur,” according to the Mayo Clinic's web site.