LaMarcus Aldridge retires from NBA due to heart condition
“For 15 years, I’ve put basketball first, and now, it is time to put my health and family first,” the NBA player wrote in a statement shared on social media.
In a letter shared on social media using a colorful graphic, Aldridge shared he had decided to put his health and family before his professional basketball career.
“Today, I write this letter with a heavy heart,” the 35-year-old athlete opened. “My last game, I played while dealing with an irregular heartbeat. Later 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.”
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NBA News: LaMarcus Aldridge Receives Heartfelt Tribute After Announcing Retirement
KEY POINTS
Aldrige played 15 seasons in the NBA
Aldridge is a seven-time NBA All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection
The basketball world was shocked to hear that Brooklyn Nets forward LaMarcus Aldridge announced his retirement from basketball right in the middle of the 2020-2021 NBA season.
In an official statement, Aldridge, 35, said that in the Nets’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers, he played with an irregular heartbeat, which worsened later on that night. Head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs talks with LaMarcus Aldridge #12 during play against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on Dec. 12, 2017 in Dallas. Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Jeff Green on LaMarcus Aldridge’s retirement: ‘It’s bigger than basketball’
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Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
Jeff Green knows a thing or two about sacrifice. During a routine physical in the midst of the 2011-2012 NBA preseason, it was discovered that Green had an aortic root aneurysm. By the start of the new year, Green was under anesthesia, his heart stopped completely, while a surgeon attempt to repair the damage done to his heart.
“To me basketball is secondary,” said Green to
ESPN’s Baxter Holmes back in 2018. “I had to really fight for my life. I almost died over this game.”