Santi Aldama’s family told him they’d do the best they could.
It was well into the early morning hours in Aldama’s native country of Spain when his family fought back the temptation of sleep to watch the first start in his NBA career.
Aldama shined in a Memphis Grizzlies season opening 115-112 overtime win against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night as the clock neared 3:30 a.m. Thursday in Las Palmas, Spain.
He came out calmly knocking down two 3-pointers, then Aldama showed his offensive versatility by pumpfaking a 3-pointer, dribbling and attacking the rim for a made layup.
Then came the exclamation point in the third quarter. Steven Adams dropped a nifty pass off to the 6-foot-11 Aldama, who dunked over 6-8 Julius Randle and had one of his most emotional moments as a pro. Aldama let out a scream, flexed his arms and was given a technical foul for taunting Randle.
Aldama raised his hands questioning the call after the whistle was blown.
“I was just hyped,” Aldama. “I wasn’t directing it towards him, I was just excited. At the end of the day, it was a good dunk, so I’m happy for it.”
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Aldama finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds on 7 of 14 shooting. Most importantly, he was a team-high plus-18 in 39 minutes.
Aldama’s offensive ability flashed throughout summer league and preseason, but in the end, it was going to come down to his defense.
Going up against Randle was the perfect test. All summer, Aldama talked about how working on his body was the one of the most important goals. He mentioned during preseason how he’s gotten better at taking bumps and holding his own against bigger players.
Now Aldama’s 224-pound frame had to stand the test of the 250-pound Knicks forward. He used his nimble feet to stay in front of Randle most of the game and held his own against the beefier foe.
“It was more about knowing his game, knowing his tendencies and being ready to absorb contact,” Aldama said. “It’s not easy, but I think I did a pretty good job overall.”
One of the biggest questions surrounding the Grizzlies this summer was who would fill in for an injured Jaren Jackson Jr. That question has been answered emphatically.
Aldama came on so strong that the Grizzlies never even had the chance to start another player at power forward during the preseason. All of this came after Aldama, a first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, played in just 32 games last season.
“I bought in last year to what’s coming,” Aldama said.
After the game, Aldama was all smiles. He had the look of someone who had just taken advantage of a golden opportunity.
The icing on the cake came when he saw a text from his family back in Spain letting him know that they couldn’t go to sleep without watching the entire game, including overtime.
“They’re for sure happy, but they’re not going to be as happy tomorrow morning when they got to wake up,” Aldama said.
