The Unstoppable LaMarcus Aldridge

LaMarcus Aldridge spent nine seasons in Portland establishing himself as an All-World 4. Now he’s bringing his dominant old-school game back to Texas. And you thought the Spurs were scary before?

- Leo Sepkowitz

Picture Kobe Bryant in a Knicks uni. Doesn’t look that bad, right? A little strange, maybe—we’ve only ever seen him in purple and gold—and it’d take some getting used to.But we’d get there. Now picture him in a (defunct) Bobcats jersey—orange and blue, just the same. Looks awful, I know.

The only way to explain that difference is to say that more goes into how a player looks in a jersey than just how he looks.It’s not New York’s colors that would work for Kobe; it’s all the other stuff. It’s the big city, the big fan base, the big arena, the big brand. He’d eventually look just fine as a Knick, because when a player fits with a team,of the paint, Aldridge’s arsenal is whole, his production is automatic. Flip on an old Blazers game and watch LA score 8 points in the first quarter, 5 in the second, then 8, then 6—an inevitable, tremendous 27, all told. (Though that might be cause for self criticism. “He’ll have 25 and 10 and then say, ‘Yeah, but I played like trash.’ That’s how high his standards are,” says Crawford.)