A premier big man and an icon for the Portland Trail Blazers, LaMarcus Aldridge, was the deadliest from the mid-range during his time in the league. But he wasn’t always on top of his game. Falling prey to substance abuse early in his life, Aldridge shared his story of indulging in substance abuse at an early age and later in life how he got a letter from the University of North Carolina.
Narrating how he changed his life post that incident on the All The Smoke podcast, Aldridge revealed that he placed that letter from UNC next to a picture of Michael Jordan. 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 alma mater of the University of North Carolina, 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 legacy of the University of North Carolina. 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 sticking the frame with Jordan’s picture from his North Carolina days became a full-circle moment for the seven-time All-Star.
LaMarcus Aldridge turned his life around
Attending classes under the influence of substances at an early age is problematic 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. Aldridge even mentioned how he stopped smoking altogether, started going to the gym regularly, and even started to pay attention in classes. 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. As per YahooSports, 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.
