He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves.

[9] 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.

He won the 2009–10 men's college basketball Academic All-American of the Year as selected by CoSIDA and presented by ESPN the Magazine.

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 Oklahoma City Thunder.

In October 2012, Aldrich, James Harden, Daequan Cook, and Lazar Hayward were traded to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, and draft picks.

[17] On February 20, 2013, Aldrich was traded to the Sacramento Kings along with Toney Douglas and Patrick Patterson in exchange for Francisco García, Thomas Robinson and Tyler Honeycutt.

[24] 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 Miami Heat.

[25] 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.

[33] 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 occurred.