LaMarcus Aldridge is retiring from the NBA after experiencing heart problems in his last game with the Brooklyn Nets.
He announced the news on his Twitter account Thursday morning and explained the situation. Aldridge just signed with the Nets after being bought out by the Spurs last month.
In his statement, he said that he actually played against the Lakers on April 10 with an irregular heartbeat. After the game, he said his heart rhythm got even worse.
It wasn’t until the next morning that he told the team about the problem he was having and they got him to the hospital to have him checked out. He’s better now, but he said it was one of the “scariest things I’ve experienced.”
— LaMarcus Aldridge (@aldridge_12) April 15, 2021
“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 is time to put my health and family first.”
Good for Aldridge. It’s awful to see him ending his illustrious career this way — especially when he was going to have a chance to compete for a championship this season with the Nets.
But, at the same time, things could’ve ended much worse. He has a long history with heart related problems. This isn’t the first scare he’s had in his 15-year career.
So it’s great to see him stepping away like this, even if it’s not on the terms we would’ve liked. The most important thing here is that he’s safe, healthy and will get to spend the rest of his life enjoying his family.
That’s really all that matters.
