Texas Basketball: Ranking LaMarcus Aldridge’s 3 best NBA teammates ever
College: San Diego State. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Kawhi Leonard. 2. player. 29. Forward
A former teammate of Alridge’s in San Antonio that was around for a bit longer than Duncan is the former San Diego State Aztecs 6-foot-7 and 230 pound forward Kawhi Leonard. With the 15th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, technically the Indiana Pacers picked up Leonard. But he was promptly sent to the Spurs on a draft night trade in 2011.
Leonard would take some time to blossom in the NBA, but when he did it was truly something special to behold. Up to this point, Leonard is a four-time All-Star selection, three-time All-NBA Team selection, one time steals champ, two-time NBA Champion, five-time All-Defensive Team selection, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and two-time NBA Finals MVP.
What Leonard has shown to this day with the Spurs, and his current team the Toronto Raptors, is the fact that he shows out when it matters most. Leonard really showed up when the underdog Raptors needed him in last year’s playoff run against the Warriors. And he did that when the Spurs knocked off LeBron James and the Miami Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals.
However, “The Claw” was Aldridge’s teammate with the Spurs for three years, two of which he was an All-Star. Leonard and Aldridge never got a title as teammates, but they did share some success. There was one season where they both represented the Western Conference as All-Stars. But the 2017-18 season didn’t see Leonard play in but nine regular season games before he was shipped north of the border to the Raptors.