ORLANDO - The Portland Trail Blazers advanced to the Western Conference Finals this past season, the first time the franchise made it that far since 2000.
Obviously, perennial All-Star Damian Lillard and his backcourt teammate C.J. McCollum were front and center throughout their three-round playoff journey.
Others on the team made key contributions too, though, including Al-Farouq Aminu, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward who particularly came up huge in Portland’s opening round series win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 28-year-old, whom the Orlando Magic officially signed on Saturday, had one of his best, and most significant, playoff performances in Game 4 of that series when he recorded 19 points and nine rebounds. Even more impressive was that the Blazers outscored the Thunder by 20 when he was on the floor during that win, which gave Portland a commanding 3-1 series advantage.
Aminu, who will be going into his 10th NBA season, got off to a scorching hot start that night in OKC, where he made five of his first six shot attempts, three of which came from beyond the arc.
On the other end of the court, he was stellar, too, limiting Paul George to 1-of-5 shooting when he was his closest defender, per Second Spectrum tracking data.
With his impressive 7-foot-3 wingspan, the Atlanta native has always been known for his defensive versatility and ability to switch onto guards when necessary.
Throughout the series, Russell Westbrook shot just 27.3 percent when Aminu, the No. 8 overall draft pick in 2010 by the Clippers, was his closest defender, per data. One of the most important plays of the entire series featured outstanding defense by Aminu. On the possession before Lillard’s unforgettable game-winning buzzer-beater in Game 5, Aminu denied Westbrook as the eight-time NBA All-Star drove inside.
In the next series against the Nuggets, the former Wake Forest standout did a very good job when he was switched onto Jamal Murray, who made only two of his nine 3-point attempts throughout the seven games when Aminu was the closest to the shot, per data.
Aminu, who started in 81 regular season games last year and averaged 9.4 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting a career-best 86.7 percent from the free throw line, should fit in extremely well with Orlando, one of the league’s premier defensive teams in 2018-19.
Whenever Aaron Gordon or Jonathan Isaac are subbed out, Aminu can step right in and be the defensive stopper and spot-up 3-point shooter that the Magic need off the bench.