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Portland Trail Blazers’ Al-Farouq Aminu to play in NBA Africa Game 2018

By Matt George Moore

JOHANNESBURG, SA - AUGUST 1: Al-Farouq Aminu #8 of Team Africa prior to the NBA Africa Game 2015 as part of Basketball Without Borders on August 1, 2015 at the Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg, South Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
JOHANNESBURG, SA - AUGUST 1: Al-Farouq Aminu #8 of Team Africa prior to the NBA Africa Game 2015 as part of Basketball Without Borders on August 1, 2015 at the Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg, South Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The league is gearing up for its third game in Africa. And the 2018 version of Team Africa will feature a familiar face for Blazers fans: Chief.

The Blazers’ Al-Farouq Aminu will play for Team Africa in the NBA Africa Game 2018 on Aug. 4 in Pretoria, South Africa.

The 27-year-old Aminu, whose parents are from Nigeria, will make his second appearance in the game. He also played for Team Africa in the inaugural edition in 2015.

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Africa Game

According to NBA.com, the game will be played in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, who died in 2013.

Aminu played in the first NBA Africa Game in Johannesburg, South Africa, just one month after signing a multiyear contract with Portland. He scored seven points and turned the ball over five times, but he snagged a game-high 15 rebounds.

Aminu’s teammate on that squad was former Blazers player Nicolas Batum, who also scored seven points. (Batum’s father is from Cameroon.)

Also on that team: NBA Hall-of-Famers Dikembe Mutombo and Hakeem Olajuwon. Mutombo is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Olajuwon, like Aminu’s parents, is from Nigeria.

The Games

Team Africa is composed of players born in Africa or with “direct family ties to the continent.” Team World is composed of players from countries outside of Africa.

Team World has won both games against Team Africa: 101-97 in 2015 and 108-97 in 2017.

Evan Turner played in the 2015 game, finishing with 14 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. (He was a member of the Boston Celtics then.)

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CJ McCollum played in the second Africa Game in 2017, also in Johannesburg, representing Team World. He played 25 minutes — second-most on his squad. But he shot poorly, scoring eight points on 3/15 shooting, including 1/6 from three.

It’s possible CJ was just exhausted after putting in a lot of work off the court.

The Rosters

Team Africa includes Joel Embiid, Evan Fournier, Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam. Team World includes DeMar DeRozan, Harrison Barnes, Danilo Gallinari, Rudy Gay and Hassan Whiteside.

Full rosters, including coaches and “legends,” will be announced later.

Should be fun.

And with Aminu on the court, it’s another cool reason to tune in Aug. 4.