A premier big man and an icon for the Portland Trail Blazers, LaMarcus Aldridge, was one of the deadliest mid-range shooters during his time in the league. But he wasn’t always on top of his game. On the All The Smoke podcast, he shared his story of falling prey to drugs at an early age and how getting a letter from the University of North Carolina changed the course of his life.
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He said, “I don’t remember, the 7th or 8th grade, I was so high. I smoked every morning like I’m going to school high as a kite… Long story short, I get in the gym, I stop smoking, I’m on time for class. End of the year, I balled out too.”
The 38-year-old further added,
“I go against all the heavy hitters and I hold my own. End of the year, they be like, ‘Yo, he real.’ So then, I get the first letter of my life was from (the University of North) Carolina, like, ‘You’re on our radar.’ So, in my room, I had a picture of MJ in a frame. I put that bi**h right in the frame. And the rest was history.”
Because Michael Jordan is an University of North Carolina alum, many young players wanted to play for UNC. And Aldridge’s hard work finally paid off when he got his first letter from UNC. When he joined college, Jordan was a big part of the UNC legacy . His iconic game-winner against Georgetown back in the 1982 NCAA Finals as a freshman made the college an alluring spot for many aspiring ballers.
When LA got that letter from UNC, his gesture of placing it into the frame with Jordan’s picture from his North Carolina days became a life changing moment for the seven-time All-Star.
LaMarcus Aldridge turned his life around
Using drugs at an early age does not bode well for anyone. But LaMarcus Aldridge’s love and admiration for the game of basketball helped him find a way out of that life. Aldridge was asked to lock in for a year and focus on his game. He went from going to class under the influence to hitting the gym every day and going up against the Toronto Raptors legend, Chris Bosh as well.
He saw the benefits that his hard work had reaped and never looked back from that day. The 38-year-old played in the NBA for 16 long seasons. He finished his career in the top 50 on the all-time scoring list.
During his interview with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, LA had some advice for young kids as well. Aldridge said, “I try to tell kids now: I got 20,000 points and I had three moves.” His advice was in the context of how he became so successful in the league. He even said,
“Look at my game! I went middle like Tim, faded away like KG, and had a high release like Sheed. It seemed too simple.”
The seven-time NBA All-Star took some of the best moves from some of the best players at his position and ended up with one hell of a career by the time he retired from the league.
