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It was one of the most shocking moments of the 2020-2021 NBA season.
LaMarcus Aldridge, a 15-year NBA veteran, retired from the league in April just weeks after signing with the Brooklyn Nets.
The move was sudden and unexpected. With powerhouse players likeKyrie Irving,Kevin Durant, and James Harden, the Nets are favorites to win the NBA title this season. Adding Aldridge only bolstered the team’s chances at the championship, which would have been the first of the athlete’s career.
When announcing his retirement, Aldridge said he was leavingas a result of an irregular heartbeat.
In a new interview withThe Athletic, the 35-year-old said he played his entire NBA career with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a condition that causes a rapid heartbeat due to an extra electrical pathway, according toMayo Clinic.
“Normally when I get on the court, my case study is that I would go into regular rhythm as I got my heart rate up,” Aldridge told The Athletic. He continued of what would be his last NBA game on April 10 against the Los Angeles Lakers, “It had never been out of rhythm in a game and then it was out of rhythm for the Lakers game and I was just off and couldn’t get no energy. I just couldn’t get myself going. I couldn’t figure out what was going on.”
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“At like two, three in the morning, it got really, really crazy. My heart was beating really crazy, and that’s when it got really bad for me,” he recalled to the outlet. “From two to five in the morning, I was just trying to evoke some breathing and then around 5:30 or so, I texted the team doctor and I went to the hospital. It was probably the scariest night ever.”
Aldridge recovered, but it was enough to convince him not to push the limits of his condition any longer.
“It’s very unpredictable, and I didn’t want to keep playing and feeling the way I felt that night anymore and risk … no one knows for 100 percent if you can have something bad happen,” he said, in part.
Since his retirement, Aldridge admitted he has struggled mentally and emotionally with what to do next.
“I’ve been depressed, and I’m trying to figure out how to navigate through not competing on the floor, learning not to be depressed,” Aldridge explained. “I still love basketball. I still feel like I have a lot to give. But even now, I’m still trying to find myself. When you go from doing something you love for so long and you lose it overnight, it’s a shock.
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With the NBA playoffs currently underway, and the Nets holding a 3-1 lead over the Boston Celtics in the first round, Aldridge said it will be difficult watching the team have success without him.
“It was a chance for me to make that next step, a chance for me to add to my legacy and see what it feels like,” he toldThe Athletic. “I’ve always prided myself on embracing moments and trying to grow and learn from every moment.”
“I wanted to get there and see what it’s like, help those guys win and be a part of the journey,” he added. “And then if we got there, hopefully, we would go back two or three more times. So that was definitely the hardest part for me.”
source: people.com
