LaMarcus Aldridge will miss rest of 2019-20 season for the Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs will be without one of their best players for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, as power forward LaMarcus Aldridge is shut down.

One of the best big men to suit up for the Texas basketball program ever in its history is the seven-time NBA All-Star selection, and five-time All-NBA Team selection, power forward LaMarcus Aldridge. The former Portland Trail Blazer and current San Antonio Spurs big man had a productive rebound campaign in 2019-20 before the novel coronavirus pandemic placed the regular season on hold.

Now that the NBA season is set to resume at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL, with game action starting on July 31, it looks as if Aldridge won’t be a part of the action. Aldridge reportedly (ESPN and team announcement) will be shut down for the rest of the season, even with the delayed restart next month, after undergoing shoulder surgery back on April 24.

This report dropped earlier this week, and comes as a bit of a surprise as the Spurs do remain in contention for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. But Aldridge could be a very valuable part of the Spurs run next season, if they do bolster their young roster. He could become even more important if the Spurs front office decides to let shooting guard DeMar DeRozan walk in free agency this offseason.

The Spurs are set to be one of the 13 teams to resume play in the West that are looking for a playoff spot. They’ll have at most an eight game slate to finish up the regular season, starting on July 31 at Disney World in Orlando, to try and make some headway to pass up the likes of the Memphis Grizzliers, Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, etc. for the eight seed.

But they’ll have to do so without one of their biggest stars.

Aldridge played in 53 games in the season that is now over for him. He averaged 18.9 points per game, 7.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.6 blocks. He shot 49.3 percent from the field, a much improved 38.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 82.7 percent from the free-throw line. That amounted to an effective field goal percentage of 53.2 and a 57.1 true shooting percentage.

The Spurs did finish up prior to the COVID-19-pandemic induced season hiatus with a record of 27-36. That placed them 12th in the Western Conference standings heading into the resumption next month.