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By Cody Sharrett - Entering free agency last July after a breakout performance in the playoffs with the Dallas Mavericks, veteran forward Al-Farouq Aminu knew he’d have a choice in finding a prominent role for himself for the foreseeable future. Given the departures from Portland last offseason, a reunion with president of basketball operations Neil Olshey, who drafted Aminu with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2010, presented that opportunity with the Trail Blazers in 2015-16.
In an expanded offensive role for the first time in his career, Aminu relished the opportunity. While the Wake Forest had been looked at as a defensive specialist in his time with Los Angeles, New Orleans and Dallas, Aminu was often the Blazers’ third scoring option this season while continuing his standout play on the defensive end.
For perspective, Aminu attempted 719 shots in 2015-16, compared to his previous high of 494. The Nigerian national teamer put up new career-highs of 10.2 points per game and a clip of 36.1% from behind the three-point line, while serving as one of the Blazers’ top rebounders with 6.1 rebounds per game. Along with center Mason Plumlee, Aminu was one of two players to start in all 82 games for Portland this season.
“It was an amazing journey of growth,” Aminu said during his exit interview in May. “We grew a lot throughout the season, personally and as a team.”
The final month of the regular season and playoffs served as a showcase of Aminu’s personal improvement. The lanky forward tied a career-high on March 26 with 20 points versus the Philadelphia 76ers, only to be topped two games later with 28 versus the Boston Celtics and a 27-point performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 6. To top it all off, Aminu dropped a new high of 30 points on 6-of-10 shooting from deep in the Blazers’ Game Three win over the Clippers in Round One.
Still just 25 years old, Aminu’s continued improvement fits with the Blazers’ aim to be an emerging force in the Western Conference in the coming seasons.
“Any time you have guys that are the same age, it just makes it a lot easier to get along,” Aminu said. “It’s easy to have relatable points, different things like that. A lot of us are going through similar things in our careers so you get to relate on that note. When it came to comfortably in that sense, it was just unbelievable. And then I think that’s why the chemistry was there as well.
“From top to bottom, everybody was kind of in that same wavelength of what they were trying to do.”