He was one of the all-time great Trail Blazers, but the legacy of LaMarcus Aldridge in Portland will never be defined by all the points, and all the rebounds he secured during his nine seasons here.
It will be defined by the hurt.
The hurt that Aldridge felt from being underappreciated. And the hurt he brought upon the fan base with his departure.
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His Portland legacy is a complicated subject, one that is layered and difficult to grasp in part because it’s hard to take anything Aldridge has said about Portland at face value. In 2014, he said he wanted to stay in Portland and cement his legacy as the greatest Blazer of all time… then he chose to leave for San Antonio less than a year later in free agency. And while in San Antonio, he said he would like to one day reunite with Damian Lillard and end his career in Portland … then when presented with just that chance after a San Antonio buyout this spring, he instead chose Brooklyn.
In between his mixed messages, there were some incredible moments. Some incredible production. And some real growth as a person.
But there was also a lot of bitterness, pettiness and moodiness that led to much of the hurt.
As far as incredible moments go, nothing will top the 2014 playoffs. Everybody remembers Lillard’s series-ending shot to beat the Rockets in the first round, an iconic shot that fittingly overshadowed Aldridge’s finest NBA moment. But it was Aldridge who created the Lillard highlight, carrying the Blazers to upset wins in Houston in Game 1 and Game 2. Aldridge had 46 points and 18 rebounds in a Game 1 overtime win, and his 43 points in Game 2 were amassed in crucial, pressure-packed situations. And when Lillard took that inbounds pass in Game 6 with 0.9 seconds left and buried the series-clinching 3, few remembered that Aldridge was the star that game, leading the Blazers with 30 points and 13 rebounds.
Those types of understated, yet steady, performances led to incredible production. He is Portland’s all-time leading rebounder. He is third in points. Third in field goals. Fourth in blocks. Fourth in games played. In each season from 2010-2015, he was the Blazers’ leading scorer.
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Behind the scenes, though, it was a struggle. He battled insecurity, never feeling he was valued as much as Brandon Roy or even Greg Oden. He brooded during his early years with Roy, much of it stemming from him not being asked to a dinner in Memphis, which turned out to be more of a miscommunication than a slight. And he struggled with bitterness and pettiness as he felt threatened by Lillard’s emergence in 2012, and the adoration of the city that was quickly heaped upon the young guard. He would turn down NBA public service announcements, then complain when Lillard did them, pointing it out as proof the organization favored Lillard.
Ultimately, I feel like Aldridge got over many of his insecurities, even if his real growth didn’t happen until he moved on in free agency to San Antonio, which was closer to his hometown of Dallas, and his sons. The last two times I talked to Aldridge in San Antonio, I was struck by how at peace he seemed, and how much his perspective had changed. There was no angst about where he stood or how he was perceived. He smiled easily, talked about the importance of family, and was curious about people within the Blazers’ organization.
I think his perspective was altered by two realizations: Once he got to San Antonio, I think he realized it wasn’t so bad in Portland. The way he was given special treatment. The way the offense ran through him. He didn’t realize just how comfortable he had become in Portland.
Also, thanks to a facilitation by his close friend Jamal Crawford, Aldridge and Lillard connected and talked out their differences. And really, they found their differences were a byproduct of poor communication and outside forces putting bad thoughts into their heads. But once they talked, and once they understood where each was coming from, they realized all the tension between them was silly. Both wondered aloud to the other: What could have been? In fact, both said they talked about Aldridge returning to Portland someday.
The rebirth of the Trail Blazers was still in its infancy in 2008 when then general manager Kevin Pritchard whispered something to me as we sat courtside during pregame warmups.
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“He might end up being the best of them all,” Pritchard said.
In front of us was Aldridge, a gangly, 22-year-old forward who could run like a deer and spin silk with his shot. At the time, Aldridge was somewhat of an afterthought in Portland, and Pritchard’s comment seemed far-fetched.
After all, Portland was in full swoon with 2007 Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy, and the city was bursting with anticipation to watch Greg Oden, the No.1 overall pick who had missed his first season with a knee injury. Aldridge, who at the time was all elbows and kneecaps, was promising, but hardly headline-grabbing.
In the end, Pritchard was right. He didn’t know Roy’s degenerative knees would give out in five seasons, and he didn’t know Oden’s knees would never be able to support his massive frame. But he did know that Aldridge was special. His turnaround jumper, with the release high above his 6-foot-11 frame, was untouchable, and oh-so reliable. He could beat other big men down the court regularly. And I remember Zach Randolph telling me Aldridge’s strength was underrated: He was an immovable force on the block.
But I think those early seasons scarred Aldridge. He never got over the feeling of being second fiddle to Roy, and then in his mind, Lillard. And his first heart scare — near the end of his rookie season in 2006-07 — added to his various anxieties.
Roy was finishing a dominating campaign that would earn him all but one Rookie of the Year vote when Aldridge was sidelined with a heart problem called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.
As Aldridge described it at the time, most people’s hearts go boom-boom. His went boom-boom, boom.
He had an ablation — a procedure to fix the irregular heartbeat — and missed the final nine games of his rookie season. Then, in 2011, a regular checkup again revealed an irregular heartbeat and he had another ablation, causing him to miss the first eight days of training camp and the first exhibition game.
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Through his heart scares Aldridge was always stoic. He was an intensely private player and kept his struggles to himself as he worried for his mom, Georgia, during her battle with cancer. And behind the scenes, he forged a bond with the St. Mary’s School for Boys. The Blazers near the holidays would make an annual trip to the school, which housed boys who come from unstable or abusive homes. But what many don’t know is that once the cameras and reporters left the made-for-television events, Aldridge would check in regularly throughout the year and make unannounced visits to the boys. He often brought gifts on his visits and frequently treated the boys to games, facts I only discovered when a teacher notified me after he left in free agency.
So … his legacy in Portland is complicated.
Neil Olshey, the Blazers’ president of basketball operations, on Thursday called Aldridge “one of the best players in the history of the franchise,” and coach Terry Stotts called him “a top five all-time Blazer.”
But beyond all of Aldridge’s points, rebounds and honors, there is no way to hide all the hurt. His own hurt. And the hurt his departure caused for Blazers fans.
Related Reading
• Alex Schiffer: What Aldridge’s retirement means for Brooklyn
(Photo: Sam Forencich / NBAE via Getty Images)
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