SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs announced Monday that starting forward LaMarcus Aldridge will miss the remainder of the season after having a surgical procedure performed on his right shoulder.
The team says Aldridge suffered the injury February 21 against the Utah Jazz. Aldridge played the following game against Oklahoma City but sat out the next six games to rehab the injury. He returned against Dallas on March 10; the NBA suspended play the following day in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Aldridge had surgery in April.
In a statement provided by the Spurs, Aldridge said he's "disappointed I won't get to finish the season with my teammates, but excited that I'll be fully ready to go next season and beyond.
The NBA Board of Governors last week approved the league's 22-team format to restart the 2019-20 season in Orlando, Fla., according to multiple reports.
The top 16 teams in the Eastern and Western conferences will be joined by teams currently within six games of eighth place in the two conferences -- New Orleans, Portland, San Antonio, Sacramento, Phoenix, and Washington.
San Antonio (27-36) trailed the Memphis Grizzlies by four games for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference when the season was suspended March 11.
The Silver and Black were 12th in the West standings with 19 games left on their schedule, but trailed ninth-place Portland by only a half-game in the ultra-competitive West.
