The San Antonio Spurs have had plenty of all-time greats, and after Amar'e Stoudemire was inducted into the Hall of Fame, one player who may have been on the fringe has a compelling case.
With the recent retirements of Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook, and the recent Hall of Fame inductions of Doc Rivers and Amar'e Stoudemire, conversations surrounding what merits a legendary career are heating up.
Westbrook and Paul, of course, are first-ballot locks. River won a title in 2008 and was one of the best regular-season coaches, but often came up short in the postseason. Stoudemire, meanwhile, was a very good player, but one of the all-time greats? Not quite.
While Spurs fans can bristle at the ringless Stoudemire getting in--most thanks to his contributions with the Phoenix Suns--it helps cement LaMarcus Aldridge's case.
LaMarcus Aldridge Builds His HOF Case
Aldridge will be best remembered for his time with the Portland Trail Blazers, but three of his seven All-Star appearances and two of his five All-NBA nods came in San Antonio. Plus, his lone Conference Finals appearance came with the Silver and Black.
For most fans, Aldridge was a very good player, but not quite a defining superstar of his generation. However, with Stoudemire enshrined, it should only be a matter of time before Aldridge gets his flowers.
"Aldridge's career averages are right there with Stoudemire's numbers, and he maintained them while playing nearly 10,000 more minutes than the former Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks star," wrote ESPN's Ben Golliver. "While Aldridge never won a ring with the Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs or Brooklyn Nets, he earned seven All-Star nods and racked up 115.6 career win shares -- far more than either Stoudemire or Griffin, who was a 2026 Hall finalist."
Over 16 NBA seasons, he averaged 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds, keeping the midrange shot alive well into the 2010s. In an era defined by Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Dirk Nowitzki, players like Aldridge, Stoudemire, Blake Griffin, Chris Bosh, and Kevin Love all comfortably occupied the second tier of talent.
If Aldridge had a comparable career in MLB or the NFL, he'd get his number retired by the team he spent most of his career with, but wouldn't make the Hall of Fame. In basketball, though, the bar is low and dropped even lower with Stoudemire making the cut, so the precedent for Aldridge to join the illustrious list has been set.
