LaMarcus Aldridge post fadeaway: Is it an all-time great move?

The origin of Aldridge’s go-to move

During the heart of his Portland prime, LaMarcus Aldridge participated in an ESPN: The Magazine feature story, where he shared a few of the intricacies of that fadeaway shot. The process began during Aldridge’s two-year tenure as a Texas Longhorn under former head coach Rick Barnes.

The two would spend time watching some of the game’s then-greats, namely Tim Duncan, Rasheed Wallace and Dirk Nowitzki. In need of a go-to move that calibrated with Aldridge’s 6’11” frame and 7’5” wingspan. The two settled on perfecting a traditional turnaround jumpshot.

Within that development, the now 7-time All-Star gave a few rules of thumb, as he’s sizing the opposition for his signature shot:

1. “Shaking the defender,” as Aldridge calls it. This involves using that 260-pound frame to unbalance surrounding defenders to create the space.

2. Planting the right foot before the turn of that right shoulder. As he brings out, this ensures complete balance when fading back.

3. The weight transfer; pushing everything from forward to back.

4. The lift of the right leg, similar to the way Dirk Nowitzki prepared it for all those years. Interesting to note: despite high-quality footage being limited from his days at the University of Texas, Aldridge wasn’t as forthcoming with the “kick.” Notice in the clip below how much leg he uses on the turnaround to the right, deep in the center of his prime versus the same shot in college.

5. Squaring to the rim. As Aldridge states, the circumstances vary, but he’s generally full center. By the time the shot hits the air, he’s locating his assignment on the other end. And considering the percentages, rightfully so. Most times, it’s money in the bank; $72.3 million to be exact.

Improved balance considered, the turnaround was still lethal enough in college to push Aldridge to a Big 12 All-First Team nod, where he averaged 15.0 points per game on 56.9 percentage from the field for an Final Four team.

In fact, one local Texas news site saw those Kevin Garnett, Duncan-like tendencies in him, even prior to that year’s Draft.

A decade-and-a-half later, and those five steps have helped create the type of career that should someday be considered for the Naismith Hall of Fame.

With an immensely realistic shot at cracking the top 50 all-time scorers list — he trails current No. 50 player Bernard King by just 1,057 points — he’ll have his trusty turnaround to thank for a steady bulk of that.