LaMarcus Nurae Aldridge (born July 19, 1985) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Aldridge, a 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), 240-pound power forward, played college basketball for the University of Texas at Austin and has since gone on to be a four-time NBA All-Star.ldridge attended Seagoville High School, where he became a second-team Parade All-American and Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) Class 4A Player of the Year. Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Aldridge was listed as the No. 4 center and the No. 16 player in the nation in 2004.
Aldridge attended the University of Texas. He declared for the 2004 NBA Draft but ultimately withdrew his name. According to one report, Aldridge's initial decision to attend college rather than entering the pro ranks directly from high school was influenced by Shaquille O'Neal's personal advice that he should go to college and then evaluate his NBA prospects. However, in April 2006, near the end of his second year at UT, Aldridge announced that he would leave college to enter the 2006 NBA Draft.
In the offseason, Aldridge splits his time between the Portland area, Newport Beach, and his hometown of Dallas, Texas.[39][40] In April 2009, Aldridge's son Jaylen Lea Aldridge was born. Aldridge is separated from Jaylen's mother. Jaylen lives with his mother in San Antonio, Texas. Aldridge's cousin is Marlon Hairston, a midfielder for the Colorado Rapids.
In 2007, he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a heart ailment. He missed the rest of the 2006–07 regular season in order to monitor the problem and correct it. Prior to the 2011–12 season, Aldridge once again underwent surgery to correct complications associated with his heart condition. He appeared in the eighth episode of the second season of Portlandia, attending the 10th anniversary of the bookstore Women and Women First with Penny Marshall.
