Last spring, LaMarcus Aldridge left the game for the right reasons, but he also left something on the table. When Aldridge stepped away in April due to an irregular heartbeat, he was just 49 points away from 20,000 career points, a rare NBA milestone.
Aldridge piled up the points through 15 NBA seasons while earning five All-NBA honors and seven All-Star Game selections, establishing himself as one of the league’s most dangerous and respected frontcourt scorers with his ability to operate on the block and step out for mid-range jumpers.
Kevin Durant and Aldridge were No. 2 overall picks out of Texas in consecutive years, though they didn’t play together in college, and faced off as part of Western Conference contenders for a decade, including playoff meetings in three consecutive years from 2016 to 2018.
“He has scoring instincts,” said Durant. “Something you condition your mind for as a kid. Just know how to score the basketball no matter what in any situation. He’s one of those guys that can get you baskets in the midst of a lot of chaos.”
After getting medical clearance over the summer, Aldridge decided to return to the NBA and to the Nets, with whom he had signed midseason last year but played just five games before retiring. In Friday night’s 105-98 win over the Indiana Pacers at Barclays Center, Aldridge became just the 48th player in NBA history to surpass 20,000 career points.
“It feels good man,” said Aldridge. “A true blessing. Definitely didn't think it was going to happen after what happened last year. Stuck with it, fall back and definitely felt good to get it done and be back out there and just feel blessed. “
Considering how close Aldridge was to the milestone on opening night, the countdown to 20,000 hovered in the background throughout the first week of the season. He covered nearly half the ground he needed with 23 points in Philadelphia a week ago and went into Friday’s game against Indiana just 10 points away — and well aware of it.
“I knew. That's why I was laughing after I did it,” said Aldridge. “The team, like the guys in the back have told me every day how close I was, 16, six, I needed 10 or whatever. I think I, Kev hit me on two back-to-back jump shots or I think Patty (Mills) and Kev hit me and then they called timeout and I was sitting there with Kev and I‘m like, 'Man, I need one more bucket for 20,000’ and he said, 'I want to pass it to you.' But then, you know, they ended up trapping him or whatever and I wasn't there so I knew. That's why when I hit the shot I looked over at Kev and started laughing.”
Aldridge had an outstanding night beyond the milestone. He scored 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting with eight rebounds. The basket that got him to 20K came in the middle of a stretch in which he scored eight straight Nets points, with the milestone jumper pushing the Nets to a 14-point lead with just under two minutes to go in the third quarter.
“He was great,” said Nets head coach Steve Nash. “Obviously scored when we needed it. But also stuck to the game plan, defended, rebounded, made the plays when we needed it. That was a really important performance and to cap it off he went into 20,000 which is incredible territory and a testament to what a player and career he’s having.”
That run of baskets also happened to be exclusively mid-range jumpers that have been at the core of Aldridge’s excellence, something he’s become so consistent at that James Harden said he thinks “it’s going in every time.” At the end of each Nets practice session, Aldridge is regularly the last player off the court as he methodically works his way through a shooting routine that he’s developed over the years, going through one spot to another.
“He’s been doing it for so long,” said Harden. “Think he had 10,000 jump shots to make 20,000 points. Just a vet that’s been doing it a very, very long time. Been very consistent. In order to be great in this league and make a name for yourself it’s consistency. You’ve got to continue to do that same thing. Whatever you’re great at, whatever your role is, you’ve got to do it every single night and LaMarcus has done that for the team’s he’s been playing on. Big shout out to him, big credit to him, he deserves everything.”