Portland Trail Blazers: 30 greatest players in franchise history
By Ben Beecken
- Played nine seasons with Trail Blazers (2006-15)
- Averaged 19.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game
- 4x All-Star with Trail Blazers
LaMarcus Aldridge was drafted second overall out of the University of Texas by the Chicago Bulls in 2006. On draft night, the Bulls sent Aldridge to Portland in a trade that brought back Tyrus Thomas. Not a great trade for the Bulls, to say the least.
Aldridge went on to have an awesome career in a Trail Blazers uniform, of course, and that vaults him to No. 6 on our list.
Aldridge was mostly backup center as a rookie, averaging nine points in 22.2 minutes per game over 63 contests alongside fellow rookie and future NBA All-Star Brandon Roy. The team was bad, winning just 32 games under head coach Nate McMillan.
In Aldridge’s second year, he moved to the power forward spot and became a full-time starter, averaging 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. That started a stretch in which Aldridge was a consistent high-teens, low-20s per-game scorer with a solid post game and a sweet midrange shot.
But the dynamic plays and defense were missing just enough, combined with a stacked Western Conference, to ensure that Aldridge wouldn’t get named to an All-Star team until 2011-12. Then, he made four straight All-Star teams in Portland before he heading to the San Antonio Spurs, where he has been an All-Star twice in his three years there so far.
The Trail Blazers only advanced out of the first round one time in Aldridge’s reign as top Trail Blazer. That was in 2014, and Portland lost to the Spurs in five games in the Western Conference Semifinals.