Cole David Aldrich (born October 31, 1988) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) for the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

and Minnesota Timberwolves. Aldrich played three seasons of

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools List of college athletic programs in Kansas, in the state of Kansas that participate in ...

before being drafted by the New Orleans Hornets with the 11th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft.

Early life

Aldrich was born on October 31, 1988, in Burnsville, Minnesota. His father was a steel metal worker and his mother worked in an embroidery. Aldrich attended Bloomington Jefferson High School in Bloomington, Minnesota. As a senior, he was named state player of the year by the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Aldrich was listed as the No. 6 center and the No. 30 player in the nation in 2007.

College career

Freshman season

During the 2007–08 season at

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, Aldrich's freshman season, his playing time was limited due to playing behind future NBA draft picks Darrell Arthur, Sasha Kaun, and Darnell Jackson. He averaged three rebounds and 2.8 points a game in 8.3 minutes a game during the regular season. Statistically, Aldrich's best performance was an 11-point, 11-rebound outing in a win over Texas Tech on March 3, 2008. Probably the most crucial game for Aldrich was during the Final Four game between Kansas and

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

on April 5, 2008, when he played only 16 minutes but managed to grab 8 rebounds and score 7 points along with blocking 4 shots while also playing effective defense against National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough, helping lead Kansas into the NCAA national championship game. They then defeated the Memphis Tigers to win their first Championship since 1988.

Sophomore season

With the departure of the other Jayhawk big men to the NBA draft, Aldrich became the premier big man going into his sophomore season. Through the first 29 games, he averaged a double-double with 15.1 points and 10.8 rebounds in 29.7 minutes of play. He grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds in an 87–78 win over

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

on February 23, 2009,. On March 8, 2009, Aldrich was named to the 2008–09 Big 12 All-conference first team. On March 22, 2009, Aldrich recorded the first official triple-double in the history of Kansas basketball against Dayton in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Aldrich accumulated 13 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 blocks in a 60–43 victory, which was the second triple-double in NCAA history to include blocks, former

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

center

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

recorded the other. On Monday, April 13, Aldrich announced that he would return to KU for his junior season.

Junior season

He won the 2009–10 men's college basketball

Academic All-American An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the ...

of the Year as selected by CoSIDA and presented by ''

ESPN the Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue, with the cover line "NEXT.," was published on March 11, 1998 (cover date March 23, 1998), and featured K ...

''. He ended his college career a perfect 55–0 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Professional career

Oklahoma City Thunder (2010–2012)

On March 29, 2010, Aldrich announced that he would forgo his final season of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2010 NBA draft. He was the 11th pick, selected by the New Orleans Hornets, who traded his rights on draft day to the

. On August 6, 2010, Aldrich signed a two-year contract with the Thunder with a two-year option. On November 24, 2010, the Thunder assigned Aldrich to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA D-League. He was recalled on December 6, 2010, but sent back to Tulsa on December 30, 2010. He was again recalled on February 2, 2011, and assigned for a third time on March 30, 2011. Aldrich reached the 2012 NBA Finals with the Thunder, but the team lost to the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

Houston Rockets (2012–2013)

In October 2012, Aldrich, James Harden, Daequan Cook, and Lazar Hayward were traded to the

for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, and draft picks.

Sacramento Kings (2013)

On February 20, 2013, Aldrich was traded to the

along with Toney Douglas and Patrick Patterson in exchange for Francisco García, Thomas Robinson and Tyler Honeycutt.

New York Knicks (2013–2015)

On September 24, 2013, Aldrich signed with the

. On January 29, 2014, he was assigned to the Erie BayHawks. He was recalled the next day. He went on to record his first double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) in his first NBA start on March 12, 2014. On July 11, 2014, Aldrich re-signed with the Knicks. On April 11, 2015, he scored a career-high 19 points in an 80–79 win over the Orlando Magic.

Los Angeles Clippers (2015–2016)

On July 13, 2015, Aldrich signed with the

. On January 13, 2016, with starting center DeAndre Jordan out, Aldrich had a then season-best game with 19 points and 7 rebounds in a 104–90 win over the

. On April 8, 2016, he recorded 21 points and 18 rebounds (both season highs) and a career-high five steals in a 102–99 overtime win over the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

Minnesota Timberwolves (2016–2018)

On July 13, 2016, Aldrich signed a three-year, $22 million deal with his hometown team, the Minnesota Timberwolves. On June 30, 2018, Aldrich was waived by the Timberwolves. On September 18, 2018, Aldrich signed with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

but was waived by the Hawks on October 2, 2018, as their first training camp cut.

Tianjin Golden Lions (2018)

On October 10, 2018, Aldrich signed with the Tianjin Golden Lions of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier men's professional basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

. He sprained his knee while playing and returned home. Aldrich planned to have a year-long break from basketball but made the decision to retire after his son was born and the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

occurred.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, 18, , 0, , 7.9, , .533, , –, , .500, , 1.9, , .2, , .3, , .4, , 1.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 26, , 0, , 6.7, , .524, , –, , .929, , 1.8, , .1, , .3, , .6, , 2.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 30, , 0, , 7.1, , .535, , –, , .444, , 1.9, , .2, , .1, , .3, , 1.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, 15, , 0, , 11.7, , .568, , –, , .727, , 4.2, , .2, , .1, , .9, , 3.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , New York , 46, , 2, , 7.2, , .541, , –, , .867, , 2.8, , .3, , .2, , .7, , 2.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , New York , 61, , 16, , 16.0, , .478, , –, , .781, , 5.5, , 1.2, , .6, , 1.1, , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 60, , 5, , 13.3, , .596, , –, , .714, , 4.8, , .8, , .8, , 1.1, , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 62, , 0, , 8.6, , .523, , –, , .682, , 2.5, , .4, , .4, , .4, , 1.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .333 , , – , , .333 , , .7 , , .1 , , .1 , , .0 , , 0.6 , -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 339, , 23, , 10.0, , .527, , –, , .738, , 3.3, , .5, , .4, , .7, , 3.1

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, align="left" ,

, 5, , 0, , 4.9, , .444, , –, , .500, , 2.6, , .0, , .0, , .0, , 2.0 , - , align="left" ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 6, , 0, , 12.8, , .667, , –, , .500, , 5.0, , .5, , 1.0, , .5, , 3.8 , -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 11, , 0, , 9.2, , .583, , –, , .500, , 3.9, , .3, , .5, , .3, , 3.0

Personal life

Aldrich lives in Minnesota with his wife and son.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldrich, Cole 1988 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in China American men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Houston Rockets players Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players Los Angeles Clippers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Minnesota Timberwolves players New Orleans Hornets draft picks New York Knicks players Oklahoma City Thunder players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Sportspeople from Burnsville, Minnesota Sacramento Kings players Sportspeople from Bloomington, Minnesota Basketball players from Hennepin County, Minnesota Tianjin Pioneers players Tulsa 66ers players