Al-Farouq Aminu

Al-Farouq Aminu

Aminu with New Orleans in 2013
No. 8 – Portland Trail Blazers
Position Forward
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1990-09-21) September 21, 1990
Atlanta, Georgia
Nationality American / Nigerian
Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight 215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school Norcross (Norcross, Georgia)
College Wake Forest (2008–2010)
NBA draft 2010 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8th overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Clippers
Playing career 2010–present
Career history
2010–2011 Los Angeles Clippers
2011–2014 New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans
2014–2015 Dallas Mavericks
2015–present Portland Trail Blazers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Representing  Nigeria
Men's Basketball
FIBA Africa Championship
2015 Tunisia Team

Al-Farouq Ajiede Aminu (born September 21, 1990) is an American-Nigerian professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays internationally with the Nigeria national basketball team. Aminu was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2010 NBA draft with the eighth overall pick.

High school career

Aminu went to Norcross High School and was ranked as one of the top college recruits in the nation from the class of 2008. He was ranked #7 in the nation by Rivals.com and #13 by Scout.com.[1]

Aminu transferred to Norcross between his freshman and sophomore years from Wesleyan School but was ruled ineligible and had to play on Norcross' JV team his sophomore year.[2] In his junior year, Aminu and teammate Gani Lawal led Norcross to a 30–3 record and a #12 national seed. Aminu averaged 13.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in his junior year. He led Norcross to back to back Georgia 5A state titles in 2007 and 2008. He averaged 23.1 points and 11.2 rebounds a game as a senior. Norcross finished 29–2 and ranked #6 in 2008. Aminu was a member of the 2008 McDonald's All-American Team and played in the Jordan Brand Classic where he had 12 points and 13 rebounds.[3]

College career

Aminu committed to Wake Forest in July 2007 and in November 2007 Aminu signed a Letter of Intent to play basketball at Wake Forest. He chose Wake Forest over Georgia Tech.

As a freshman during the 2008–09 season, he was a unanimous selection for the ACC All-Freshman Team. Aminu posted 10 double-doubles on the year, including five in conference action. He led all freshmen and ranked sixth in the ACC with 8.3 rebounds per game. Aminu was also second among all league rookies with 13.0 points per contest.

College statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008–09 Wake Forest 313029.0.516.179.6718.21.51.01.212.9
2009–10 Wake Forest 313031.3.447.273.69810.71.31.41.415.8

Professional career

Los Angeles Clippers (2010–2011)

Aminu in 2014 as a Pelican

On April 1, 2010 Aminu hired an agent and declared for the 2010 NBA draft.[4] He was selected with the eighth overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers. In just his eighth game for the Clippers on November 9, 2010, he had a season-best game with 20 points (a career-high until March 31, 2016) and 8 rebounds against the New Orleans Hornets.[5]

New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans (2011–2014)

On December 14, 2011, the Clippers traded Aminu, Chris Kaman, Eric Gordon and a 2012 first-round pick (previously acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves) to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Chris Paul and two future second-round picks.[6]

In the final game of the 2012–13 regular season on April 17, Aminu recorded 16 points and a career-high 20 rebounds in an 87–99 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.[7] The next day, the Hornets changed their name to the Pelicans.[8]

On December 4, 2013 against the Dallas Mavericks once again, Aminu tied his career-best game with 16 points and 20 rebounds in a 97–100 loss.[9]

Dallas Mavericks (2014–2015)

On July 29, 2014, Aminu signed with the Dallas Mavericks.[10] On February 20, 2015, he had a season-best game with 17 points and 12 rebounds in a 111–100 win over the Houston Rockets.[11]

Portland Trail Blazers (2015–present)

On July 9, 2015, Aminu signed a four-year, $30 million contract with the Portland Trail Blazers.[12][13] On August 1, 2015, he played for Team Africa at the 2015 NBA Africa exhibition game. He made his debut for the Trail Blazers in the team's season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans on October 28, recording 9 points and 8 rebounds in a 112–94 win.[14] On March 26, 2016, Aminu matched his career high with 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a 108–105 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.[15] He set a new career high five days later, scoring 28 points while hitting a career-high six three-pointers in a 116–109 win over the Boston Celtics.[16] On April 6, he scored 27 points in a 120–115 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, helping the Trail Blazers clinch a postseason berth.[17] The Trail Blazers finished the regular season as the fifth seed in the Western Conference with a 44–38 record. In the first round of the playoffs, the Trail Blazers faced the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers, and in a Game 4 win on April 25, Aminu recorded a career-high 30 points and 10 rebounds, helping the team tie the series at 2–2.[18] The Trail Blazers went on to win the series 4–2 and advanced to the second round where they faced the Golden State Warriors. In Game 3 of the series, Aminu recorded 23 points and 10 rebounds to help the Trail Blazers win 120–108, cutting the Warriors' advantage in the series to 2–1.[19] The Trail Blazers went on to lose the series to the Warriors in five games.

After starting in the Trail Blazers' first eight games of the 2016–17 season, Aminu was ruled out for a number of weeks with a calf injury on November 11, 2016.[20][21]

International career

Aminu represents the Nigerian national basketball team. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. On August 30, 2015, Aminu with the D'Tigers of Nigeria won the 2015 FIBA Africa Championship (AfroBasket) in Tunisia by defeating Angola 74–65.[22] He was also named in the All-Star Five of the 2015 Afrobasket.[23]

Personal life

Aminu's parents are Aboubakar and Anjirlic Aminu, and he is a descendant from a line of Nigerian kings. His brother, Alade Aminu, is also a professional basketball forward.[24] Aminu practices Islam.[25]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 L.A. Clippers 81 14 17.9 .394 .315 .773 3.3 .7 .7 .3 5.6
2011–12 New Orleans 66 21 22.4 .411 .277 .754 4.7 1.0 .9 .5 6.0
2012–13 New Orleans 76 71 27.2 .475 .211 .737 7.7 1.4 1.2 .7 7.3
2013–14 New Orleans 80 65 25.6 .474 .271 .664 6.2 1.4 1.0 .5 7.2
2014–15 Dallas 74 3 18.5 .412 .274 .712 4.6 .8 .9 .8 5.6
2015–16 Portland 82 82 28.5 .416 .361 .737 6.1 1.7 .9 .6 10.2
Career 459 256 23.4 .432 .322 .729 5.4 1.2 .9 .6 7.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015 Dallas 5 2 30.0 .548 .636 .789 7.2 1.2 2.0 1.6 11.2
2016 Portland 11 11 33.8 .438 .400 .724 8.6 1.8 .7 .9 14.6
Career 16 13 32.6 .459 .432 .750 8.2 1.6 1.1 1.1 13.6

Awards

College

High school

References

  1. ↑ Scout.com College Football Team Recruiting Prospects
  2. ↑ Hoops – Al-Farouq Aminu ruled Ineligible. Gtsports.blogspot.com (December 7, 2005). Retrieved on 2015-12-02.
  3. ↑ Jordan Brand Classic Stats. Blog.newrecruitsports.com (July 22, 2002). Retrieved on 2015-12-02.
  4. ↑ Al-Farouq Aminu Declares for NBA Draft. Wakeforestsports.com. Retrieved on December 2, 2015.
  5. ↑ Hornets extend franchise-best start after pasting Clippers. Espn.go.com (November 9, 2010). Retrieved on 2015-12-02.
  6. ↑ "Hornets acquire Gordon, Aminu, Kaman and first round pick". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. December 14, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
  7. ↑ Mavs avoid first losing season since 1999–2000 with win over Hornets. Scores.espn.go.com (April 17, 2013). Retrieved on 2015-12-02.
  8. ↑ Hornets officially become Pelicans. Espn.go.com (April 18, 2013). Retrieved on 2015-12-02.
  9. ↑ Notebook: Mavericks 100, Pelicans 97. Nba.com. Retrieved on December 2, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Mavericks sign free agent Al-Farouq Aminu". mavs.com. July 29, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  11. ↑ Harris, Aminu lead as balanced Mavs hold off Rockets 111–100. Nba.com. Retrieved on December 2, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Trail Blazers Sign Forward Al-Farouq Aminu". NBA.com. July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Al-Farouq Aminu, Blazers agree to 4-year, $30M deal, source says". espn.com. July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  14. ↑ "McCollum scores 37 as Blazers down Pelicans 112–94". NBA.com. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  15. ↑ "McCollum helps Blazers escape with 108-105 win over 76ers". NBA.com. March 26, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Aminu leads Trail Blazers to 116-109 win over Celtics". NBA.com. March 31, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Trail Blazers defeat Thunder 120-115, clinch playoff berth". NBA.com. April 6, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Paul leaves with broken hand, Blazers beat Clippers 98-84". NBA.com. April 25, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Lillard has 40, Blazers cut Warriors' advantage to 2-1". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. May 7, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  20. ↑ Holdahl, Casey (November 11, 2016). "AMINU OUT AT LEAST 'A COUPLE WEEKS' WITH LEFT CALF INJURY". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Portland Trail Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu out for a "couple" of weeks". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. November 11, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Nigeria defeats Angola to win first-ever FIBA African Championship title in historic Afrobasket 2015 finals". Basketball. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Chamberlain Oguchi, Al-Farouq Aminu voted into Afrobasket 2015 All-Star Team". Basketball. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  24. ↑ Al-Farouq Aminu Bio. Wakeforestsports.com. Retrieved on December 2, 2015.
  25. ↑ Freeman, Joe (July 30, 2015). "Trail Blazers' Al-Farouq Aminu savoring South African visit, taking part in 1st NBA Africa Game". OregonLive.com. The Oregonian. Retrieved 17 December 2015.

External links

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