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Keltner List: LaMarcus Aldridge

alfdogg

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1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in basketball? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in basketball? No. His best season was in 2013-14, averaging 23/11. Portland got off to a hot start to the season, and Aldridge, as the #1 option on the team, got some early-season MVP chatter, but that's about it.

2. Was he the best player on his team? Following Brandon Roy's career demise due to injury, Aldridge was the undisputed best player on his team for a few years. However, as often happens in these scenarios, an All-Star going down puts you in a tough situation, and the Blazers fell short of the playoffs until Damian Lillard blossomed into an All-Star. Lillard eventually usurped Aldridge as the franchise, and he would go to San Antonio with the expectation of taking the torch from Tim Duncan and continuing the Spurs dynasty alongside Kawhi Leonard. The Spurs were West favorites until the sudden messy divorce with Kawhi, and Pop began to slowly shift more focus to the younger players.

3. Was he the best player in basketball at his position? In his prime years in Portland, I would say he was in the debate as the best power forward, along with Blake Griffin and Kevin Love, to name a couple.

4. Did he have an impact on a number of NBA Finals or Conference Finals? Aldridge played in just one conference final, in 2017 against Golden State. He averaged just 15 points and 6 rebounds as the Spurs were swept following the infamous Zaza play on Kawhi.

5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly past his prime? Yes. His stats declined some from his prime, but he was a starter his entire career and averaged double figures in all but his rookie season, including his brief stint with the Nets.

6. Is he the very best (eligible) basketball player in history who's not in the Hall of Fame? No.

7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame? Purely on counting numbers, Aldridge definitely stacks up. 35 Hall-eligible players have scored 20,000 career points, and only two (Tom Chambers and Antawn Jamison) have not been inducted. Aldridge was just 49 points shy of that benchmark upon his sudden retirement. He is one of 19 players to record 19,000 points and 8,000 rebounds with 49% shooting (using his career numbers as the base and rounding down). Every other player with those numbers is either in the Hall or will be when their time comes, and all but two who were eligible at the time (Bob Lanier and Walt Bellamy) were on the 50 Greatest list. On the flipside of that, for those of you who are fans of advanced stats, he ranks dead last among those players in both Win Shares and VORP (Value Over Replacement Player).

8. Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards? Based on the criteria above, yes, but average-wise his numbers aren't as impressive as the other names who came up. (the last two questions seem kind of redundant tbh)

9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his basic statistics? When you look beyond the counting stats, his teams weren't close to being contenders when he was the focal point, apart from the aforementioned 2014 season. Although he was sort of thrust into carrying the offensive/statistical load upon Roy's injury because there were no other viable options.

10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame? No. Off the top of my head, I would say Chris Webber and Chris Bosh, who incidentally are both finalists this year, both have stronger resumes.

11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close? As mentioned in the first question, Portland got off to a hot start atop the West in 2014, and Aldridge was mentioned as a possible MVP candidate early on in the season because of it, before Kevin Durant ultimately left everyone in the dust. He had five All-NBA appearances (two 2nd-team and three 3rd-team) and received MVP votes in three seasons, finishing as high as 7th in 2015.

13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win an NBA title? I would say no. In his prime, the Blazers won just one playoff series with him as the main option, and missed the postseason twice.

14. What impact did the player have on basketball history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way? Was his college and/or international career especially noteworthy? Nothing comes to mind here.

The Verdict: I liked Aldridge a lot as a player, and he was always consistent and solid, but I can't see him getting the call. He might be one of the poster children for the "Hall of Very Good".
 

MFer

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I tend to agree with your conclusion. Aldridge also never seemed like a guy who had major hype from fans, media, players, etc, so I'm not sure people are gonna clamor for him like they would with other borderline cases. I know All-Star berths aren't valued like they used to be, but it is worth mentioning that he had seven of them, which is about the cutoff number for HOFers. All that said, the NBA Basketball Hall of Fame has such a low bar that I can't guarantee that he won't get in eventually.
 
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Even though Aldridge has better stats and more accolades, I still have Rasheed Wallace ahead of Aldridge and even then, I don’t think Rasheed will make the HOF.
 

King Kamala

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Wouldn't be shocked to see him get in eventually even if I agree with the rest of the board that I don't think he quite makes the cut. I feel like it's close enough where I'm not going to call into sports talk radio to bitch. If Kawhi Leonard stays on the Spurs and he makes a few more Conference Finals (or an NBA Finals?) , he probably ekes in.
 
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