LaMarcus Aldridge is a true NBA All Star. He’s got a great game. And his game is Dirk Nowitski’s.
Most NBA players are compared to other players who look like them. Short, quick black players are compared to other short, quick black players. New European sharpshooters or centers are compared to older ones. Tall, high-scoring, not-too-athletic white American forwards draw the inevitable Larry Bird comparison. Most NBA players, at least early in their careers, earn a bookmark or reference comparison to a veteran or former player who—more than anything else—looks a lot like him. Someone compared to Scottie Pippen will almost always look a lot like Scottie Pippen.
This is why few people think to compare LaMarcus Aldridge to Dirk Nowitski, even though they might as well be the same player. Dirk is white and Euro, LaMarcus is black and Texan, and that seems to be reason enough to prevent most commentators from appreciating how alike they are.
Both are high-scoring, good-rebounding power forwards with excellent footwork and deadly jumpers. They are about the same size, but neither is tremendously athletic or flashy. Both are clutch players and team leaders.
But the true similarities emerge watching the flow of a game. They both amble down the court, find their favorite spots, survey the game situation with calm, and go about their methodical movements to a favored shot or a timely pass. On the defensive end, both are liabilities, as their lack of quickness allows opposing players to beat them to spots more often than not. Neither is strong enough to stop big men from bulling them over, yet both use their sure footwork, superior understanding of geometry, and excellent hand-eye coordination to (occasionally) block shots and snare unlikely rebounds. Neither handles the ball very well.
Yet for years, commentators have failed to make the obvious comparison between the two. While two or three years ago, similarities were there, but it was too much to say that LaMarcus modeled his game on Dirk (LaMarcus is seven years younger). Now it is not too much to say that. In the past three years (only in that time frame—look it up), Aldridge added a three-pointer to his repertoire. In the past two seasons, he’s added Dirk’s raised-leg fall away jumper. LaMarcus’ increased efficiency and conservation of movement has almost exactly paralleled the aging Nowitski’s concessions to the mobility/age matrix. In doing this, Aldridge has shown he is an excellent student as well as a fine player. It makes perfect sense to pattern his game on one of the most durable all-time NBA scorers.
Good for Dirk and LaMarcus. Not so good for most basketball pundits, who fail to notice the twins when they were right in front of them.