LaMarcus Aldridge Announces NBA Retirement Due To Irregular Heartbeat

LaMarcus Aldridge has announced his retirement from the NBA, which comes after a scary encounter during a recent game.

Source: Jim McIsaac / Getty

After 15 years in the game, the Brooklyn Nets baller announced his retirement from the league. He posted a letter announcing his departure, in which the basketball veteran explained that he was motivated to end his career because after discovering he had developed an irregular heartbeat. This comes after The Brooklyn Nets’ recent loss to The Los Angeles Lakers, which turned out to be his last game ever.

“My last game, I played while dealing with an irregular heartbeat. Later on 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.

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.”

He concluded his statement with an important message, saying: “You never know when something will come to an end, so make sure you enjoy it every day. I can truly say I did just that.”

This is a sad end for Aldridge,  who is a veteran in the NBA. He was selected second overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Portland Trailblazers after spending two years at the University of Texas.

He played nine seasons in Portland before signing with the Spurs in 2015. After injuries plagued his time in San Antonio, Aldridge eventually joined Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn–though he only ended up playing 5 games with the team.