LaMarcus Aldridge Is Learning to Be Selfish on the NBA’s Most Unselfish Team

SAN ANTONIO — It took only a few seconds for San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker to recognize the holiday gift the Chicago Bulls were hand delivering to power forward LaMarcus Aldridge in the first quarter of Sunday’s ABC-TV game at AT&T Center.

When Aldridge stopped just left of the top of the key on San Antonio’s very first possession of the Christmas Day game, Chicago defender Robin Lopez stayed in the paint, leaving him unguarded.

Parker’s eyes widened like those of a kid finding a favorite toy inside a package on Christmas morning. He delivered a quick pass that Aldridge caught and immediately launched, a perfect 21-foot jumper.

A very special day had begun for Aldridge—one that seemed like the latest point on an upward trend line for the most prominent (and expensive) free-agent signee in San Antonio history.

It would take until 2:18 remained in the first half—and 10 more perfect shots—before he would miss. By the time the Spurs put the finishing touches on a 119-100 win, Aldridge would have 33 points and 9 rebounds, dominating a game in which Kawhi Leonard—the Spurs’ All-NBA first team small forward—also scored 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had 3 steals.

But Aldridge’s transition to the Spurs after nine standout seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers has not always been a smooth trajectory. He was the primary scorer in Portland through most of his time there, leading them in points each of his final five seasons.

Spurs guard Patty Mills saw peak Aldridge when he spent part of the 2008-09 season and all of the 2009-10 campaign in Portland as Aldridge’s teammate there.

“Earlier on in my career, I was like, ‘That’s what it takes to be an All-Star,’” Mills said.

But Aldridge initially struggled to find that sort of comfort zone on a Spurs dynasty with well established stars already in place. After averaging 20 or more points per game during each of his last five seasons in Portland, he notched only 18.0 points in 2015-16. His usage rate dipped to 25.9 percent, down from 30.2 percent during his final Blazers season.

Yet, despite plenty of bumps along the way, teammates have been telling him to keep being the guy he’s always been.

“I tell him every day: He needs to score more; he needs to shoot the ball more,” said Parker, who assisted on five of Aldridge’s first six shots Sunday.

“When he plays like he did (against the Bulls), it makes everybody’s job easier. It puts so much pressure on any defense. We need him to play like that. Kawhi is going to do his thing, but LaMarcus needs to be another force.”

Aldridge shrugged off his monster game as a result of how the Bulls chose to defend him.

“They had a different scheme than I’ve seen in a while,” he said after making 15-of-20 shots, only three of them inside 18 feet. “So, I was open. I was taking the shot. Once you hit two or three, the basket just seems big. It just happened.”

What happened reminded fans everywhere why Aldridge is a member of an NBA club that has only four members: Cleveland Cavaliers four-time Most Valuable Player LeBron James, Golden State Warriors two-time MVP Steph Curry, Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul and Aldridge are the only players who have earned All-NBA honors—first, second or third team—each of the past …

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