Al-Farouq Ajiede Aminu (born September 21, 1990) is a Nigerian-American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who last played for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). He plays internationally with the

Nigeria national basketball team The Nigeria national basketball team represents Nigeria in men's international basketball and it is overseen by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF). In March 2021, the global governing body FIBA ranked Nigeria as Africa's top men's basket ...

. Aminu was selected by the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

in the

2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National ...

with the eighth overall pick, and has also played for the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

, and

High school career

Aminu went to

Norcross High School Norcross High School is a public high school in Norcross, Georgia, United States, part of the Gwinnett County School System, and serving the cities of Norcross and Peachtree Corners. The school's mascot is the Blue Devil. The school is also t ...

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. Aminu transferred to Norcross between his freshman and sophomore years from

Wesleyan School Wesleyan School is a private college-preparatory nondenominational Christian school located 20 miles north of Atlanta in the suburban city of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1963 and has existed on its current ground ...

, but was ruled ineligible and had to play on Norcross' JV team his sophomore year. In his junior year, Aminu and teammate

Gani Lawal Gani Oladimeji Lawal Jr. (born November 7, 1988) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Trotamundos in the Venezuelan SuperLiga. He played college basketball for Georgia Tech. High school career During his time at Norcross H ...

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 The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

and played in the Jordan Brand Classic where he had 12 points and 13 rebounds.

College career

Aminu committed to Wake Forest in July 2007 and in November 2007 Aminu signed a

Letter of Intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement, term sh ...

to play basketball at Wake Forest. He chose Wake Forest over

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. 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

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;", Wake Forest , 31, , 30, , 29.0, , .516, , .179, , .671, , 8.2, , 1.5, , 1.0, , 1.2, , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;", Wake Forest , 31, , 30, , 31.3, , .447, , .273, , .698, , 10.7, , 1.3, , 1.4, , 1.4, , 15.8

Professional career

Los Angeles Clippers (2010–2011)

On April 1, 2010 Aminu hired an agent and declared for the

. He was selected with the eighth overall pick by the

. 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.

New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans (2011–2014)

On December 14, 2011, the Clippers traded Aminu,

Chris Kaman Christopher Zane Kaman (born April 28, 1982) is a German-American former professional basketball player. Kaman stands 7'0" (2.13 m) and played the center position. He was selected sixth overall in the first round of the 2003 NBA draft by the Los ...

Eric Gordon Eric Ambrose Gordon Jr. (born December 25, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In high school, he was named "Mr. Basketball" of Indiana during his senior yea ...

and a 2012 first-round pick (previously acquired from the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

) to the

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

in exchange for

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and “The Point God”, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is widely regarded as one o ...

and two future second-round picks. 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. The next day, the Hornets changed their name to the Pelicans. 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.

Dallas Mavericks (2014–2015)

On July 29, 2014, Aminu signed with the

. 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.

Portland Trail Blazers (2015–2019)

On July 9, 2015, Aminu signed a four-year, $30 million contract with the

. 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. 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. 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. On April 6, he scored 27 points in a 120–115 win over the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

, helping the Trail Blazers clinch a postseason berth. 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. 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. 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. He returned to action on December 5 after missing 13 games and had three points in 17 minutes against the

. He later missed four games in mid-December with a sore back. On February 9, 2017, he scored a season-high 26 points in a 120–111 loss to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. Aminu missed 13 games with a right ankle injury during November 2017. On January 1, 2018, he scored a season-high 24 points in a 124–120 overtime win over the

Orlando Magic (2019–2021)

On July 6, 2019, Aminu signed with the

. On December 1, 2019, the

announced that Aminu suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee and would be out indefinitely.

Chicago Bulls (2021)

On March 25, 2021, Aminu and

Nikola Vučević Nikola Vučević ( Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Вучевић, ; born 24 October 1990) is a Montenegrin professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the U ...

were traded to the

in exchange for Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter and two future first-round picks. On August 11, 2021, Aminu,

Thaddeus Young Thaddeus Charles Young Sr. (born June 21, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Georgia Tech, before being drafted 12th overall i ...

, and several draft picks were traded to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

in exchange for

DeMar DeRozan DeMar Darnell DeRozan (born August 7, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Trojans and was selected ninth overall by the ...

. On October 18, Aminu was waived by the

after appearing in one pre-season game. On December 25, he was signed to a 10-day contract by the

. However, he never played a game in Boston.

International career

Aminu represents the

Nigerian national basketball team The Nigeria national basketball team represents Nigeria in men's international basketball and it is overseen by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF). In March 2021, the global governing body FIBA ranked Nigeria as Africa's top men's basket ...

. He competed at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

. On August 30, 2015, Aminu with the D'Tigers of Nigeria won the

2015 FIBA Africa Championship AfroBasket 2015 was the 28th edition of the AfroBasket, a men's basketball continental championship of Africa. It also served as the qualifying tournament for FIBA Africa at the 2016 Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament in Brazil. The tournament ...

(AfroBasket) in Tunisia by defeating Angola 74–65. He was also named in the All-Star Five of the 2015 Afrobasket.

Personal life

Al-Farouq Aminu is married to Helina Tekeste Aminu. The couple have a daughter together. He is the child of a

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

father from Nigeria and an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

mother from New York. Aminu is descended from a line of Nigerian kings. He is a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. His name translates to "the chief has arrived." (This also helps explain his nickname, "The Chief.") His brother, Alade Aminu, is also a professional basketball forward. Aminu and his wife's foundation, Aminu Good Works Foundation, organizes a yearly basketball camp in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

since 2016. The camp takes place in

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its ...

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 81 , , 14 , , 17.9 , , .394 , , .315 , , .773 , , 3.3 , , .7 , , .7 , , .3 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 66 , , 21 , , 22.4 , , .411 , , .277 , , .754 , , 4.7 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , .5 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 76 , , 71 , , 27.2 , , .475 , , .211 , , .737 , , 7.7 , , 1.4 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 80 , , 65 , , 25.6 , , .474 , , .271 , , .664 , , 6.2 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, 74 , , 3 , , 18.5 , , .412 , , .274 , , .712 , , 4.6 , , .8 , , .9 , , .8 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 82 , , 82 , , 28.5 , , .416 , , .361 , , .737 , , 6.1 , , 1.7 , , .9 , , .6 , , 10.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 61 , , 25 , , 29.1 , , .392 , , .329 , , .706 , , 7.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 69 , , 67 , , 30.0 , , .395 , , .369 , , .738 , , 7.6 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 81 , , 81 , , 28.3 , , .433 , , .343 , , .867 , , 7.5 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .4 , , 9.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, 18 , , 2 , , 21.1 , , .291 , , .250 , , .655 , , 4.8 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 17 , , 14 , , 21.6 , , .404 , , .226 , , .824 , , 5.4 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, 6 , , 0 , , 11.2 , , .200 , , .167 , , .800 , , 3.2 , , .3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 1.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 711 , , 445 , , 24.9 , , .420 , , .332 , , .746 , , 6.0 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , 7.5

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 2 , , 30.0 , , .548 , , .636 , , .789 , , 7.2 , , 1.2 , , 2.0 , , 1.6 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, style="text-align:left;", Portland , 11 , , 11 , , 33.8 , , .438 , , .400 , , .724 , , 8.6 , , 1.8 , , .7 , , .9 , , 14.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, style="text-align:left;", Portland , 4 , , 0 , , 28.3 , , .459 , , .412 , , .636 , , 6.5 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, style="text-align:left;", Portland , 4 , , 4 , , 32.8 , , .519 , , .433 , , 1.000 , , 9.0 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 17.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, style="text-align:left;", Portland , 16 , , 16 , , 24.9 , , .349 , , .294 , , .750 , , 6.3 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .6 , , 7.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 40 , , 33 , , 29.1 , , .434 , , .391 , , .742 , , 7.3 , , 1.4 , , .9 , , .9 , , 11.3

Awards

College

*2009 Sporting News All-Freshman Team *2009 ACC All-Freshman Team (unanimous selection) *2009 Runner-up for ACC Freshman of the Year *2009 ACC Freshman of the Week (five separate selections)

High school

*2008 Named the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Mr. Georgia Basketball *2008 Named to the first team all-state by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution *2008 McDonald's All American East Squad *2008 First-team ''Parade'' All-American *2008 Jordan Brand All-American Classic

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aminu, Al-Farouq 1990 births Living people 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players African-American Muslims American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Basketball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Dallas Mavericks players Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Los Angeles Clippers players McDonald's High School All-Americans New Orleans Hornets players New Orleans Pelicans players Nigerian men's basketball players Nigerian Muslims Norcross High School alumni Olympic basketball players of Nigeria Orlando Magic players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Stone Mountain, Georgia Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball players