LaMarcus Aldridge announced his retirement from the NBA on Thursday after dealing with an irregular heartbeat during his last game with the Brooklyn Nets.
After the game, the irregular rhythm worsened and he went to the hospital the next morning to be “checked out,” Aldridge explained in a Twitter post announcing his retirement.
Aldridge said that as of now he is feeling better, but the experience was among the scariest of his life.
“I’ve made the difficult decision to retire from the NBA,” Aldridge wrote. “For 15 years, I’ve put basketball first, and now, it is time to put my health and family first.”
Aldridge has a documented history of dealing with a heart condition. During his rookie season, Aldridge was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, a heart condition in which a person has an extra electrical pathway between their heart’s upper and lower chambers that can cause a rapid heartbeat.
It is not known at this time if the irregular heartbeat Aldridge recently experienced stemmed from this condition or if it was a novel phenomenon.
“The Nets organization fully supports LaMarcus’ decision, and while we value what he has brought to our team in his short time in Brooklyn, his health and well-being are far more important than the game of basketball,” Nets general manager Sean Marks wrote in a statement. “We know this was not an easy decision for him, but after careful consideration and consultation with numerous medical experts, he made the best decision for him, his family and for his life after basketball.”
Aldridge signed with the Nets this season after becoming a free agent from San Antonio, appearing in five games during which he averaged 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds. His last game with the Nets, a 126-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, came on April 10. He started that game, as he did all his previous games with Brooklyn, finishing with 12 points, three rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes.
A seven-time All-Star, he retires with 19,951 career regular-season points across 1,029 career games.
“You never know when something will come to and end, so make sure you enjoy it every day,” Aldridge wrote. “I can truly say I did just that.”
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