Al-Farouq Aminu will be cast out of place for Nigeria in FIBA World Cup

Nigeria has played its first exhibitions before the FIBA World Cup. The stat lines for Orlando Magic forward Al-Farouq Aminu were expected underwhelming.

In the final moments of Nigeria’s exhibition game with Canada on Monday, the teams were neck and neck. The two teams are battling it seems on the edges of the FIBA World Cup medal picture and trying to make it to the knockout rounds to see what happens and give themselves a chance.

The two up-and-coming basketball nations are integrating some fresh young talent to a list of veteran stalwarts that helped establish them as solid basketball programs. They dream of doing a lot more.

But they will still rely heavily on their veterans to get them through.

Al-Farouq Aminu‘s international run has been a mixed bag. He has averaged 11.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in the course of his international career (four events, including the 2012 Olympics).

Al-Farouq Aminu has not played in the World Cup (or its predecessor the World Championship). Most of his international experience came in Afrobasket, the continental championship among African nations. He scored 12.0 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game in the 2015 Afrobasket, helping Nigeria win the gold medal.

But Nigeria has never broken through on the international stage. Not in any meaningful way. Aminu will have helped lay the foundation for what Nigeria will become.

And he will probably be a player they rely on again this year as their next generation prepares to take over.

Nigeria’s NBA roster has deepened in the last few years — Ben Uzoh, Chimezie Metu and Josh Okogie will all head to China later this month. But it is still a developing basketball team with Aminu somewhere near the head — he and Uzoh will split captain’s duties, it appears.

His play in the NBA would suggest he is not the best fit to be the lone NBA player on a developing nation. He is a glue guy for a team as a teammate and someone who will get in and defend, filling in starter’s minutes when called upon.

Aminu has made a nice career doing that.

That depth of talent should help Aminu play more the way he plays in the NBA. For the Portland Trail Blazers last year, he averaged 9.4 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. He hit on 34.3 percent of his 3-pointers, marking his fourth straight year shooting better than 30 percent from deep.

But his counting stats are not where Aminu derives his value. He is not a scorer nor a great shooter. He is better known for his defense and his ability to bring players together on the court through his grit and determination.

But that is not what Nigeria needs from him. And that is going to lead to some odd scorelines for him throughout this tournament.

In Nigeria’s first game against Canada on Wednesday, Aminu scored seven points on 2-for-11 shooting. He added seven rebounds, but he also had seven turnovers. It was not his best moment.

Friday’s second matchup with Canada did not alleviate any fears. He scored just two points on 1-for-6 shooting, adding another four turnovers to his tally. Nigeria won that game, splitting the pair of exhibitions with Canada.

Those are not encouraging numbers from one of Nigeria’s veteran players and essentially the team captain. Exhibition games — especially early ones — should get taken with a grain of salt. Teams are still coming together and defining roles.

But ultimately this is not what the Magic want to see from their newest acquisition. Then again, it is not quite the Aminu the Magic will get in the fall.

Aminu has averaged anywhere from 7-8 field goal attempts per game for the last several seasons. His usage rate has hovered around 15 percent, dipping lower than that the last two years, for much of his career.

This is all to say, Aminu is not often the primary option on offense. In fact, he is rarely an option on offense at all throughout his career. Even recently.

So his play at the FIBA World Cup may not reflect quite what he will do with the NBA. He is not going to get 10 shots per game with the Magic. He is not going to be a player the Magic rely on each night to score in the same way it appears Nigeria will.

His stat lines will not look super impressive.

So what should fans watch when they see Aminu at the World Cup? It certainly will not be his scoreline or shooting numbers.

The poor shooting performances he has had in the first two exhibition games are a product of a player having to play a role larger than he is capable of filling.

But they do say something. There will still be little things to glean as they try to translate to the team.

The Magic certainly would like to see him post a decent 3-point field goal percentage. That has never been his strongest suit, but it is important Aminu provides at least nominal floor spacing and make defenses pay for hitting 3-pointers.

Without any dominant guards — Ben Uzoh and Josh Okogie are the notable perimeter players with the team now with OG Anunoby, rookie KZ Okpala and the still-injured Chuma Okeke also listed in the team’s roster pool — there is not going to be a lot of open 3-pointers created for Aminu.

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That will surely affect his shooting numbers. So his raw scoring numbers might jump up, but he likely will not be efficient. And his 3-point shooting and the quality of his 3-point attempts are not going to be great.

Aminu’s rebounding will be key coming out of the forward position in a tournament that will feature a lot more physical play — not to mention straight zone defenses.

Aminu’s ultimate value in the NBA is his defensive versatility and ability to play inside and attack the glass. And this is likely the number that will translate most from his FIBA play back to the NBA.

He averaged 7.5 rebounds per game last year and has been around seven per game for the last several years. In the two games against Canada, he grabbed 17 rebounds total in about 41 total minutes across the two games. That is somewhere he knows he can contribute to this team and give them a big boost.

There will be a few lineups, it seems, where Aminu will play center. Even there his defense might become overmatched. But if he can hold his own and help switch onto the perimeter, that will more closely approximate his value to the Magic.

Nigeria is not expected to get out of the group stage. This is still a team growing their talent and rather raw. Aminu is the veteran on the team.

So Nigeria will likely ask him to do more than he is capable of doing at the highest levels. They will certainly ask him to do more than the Magic — or any NBA team — would.

That will lead to some disappointing-looking score lines. But that is what Aminu has to do to represent his national team and give them the best chance to win.

There is still plenty to learn about the Magic’s newest acquisition. What Magic fans will have to do is read between the lines and see the other areas he contributes and how that translates to the Magic in the fall.

It will have to come beyond the box score.