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Player Profile: LaMarcus Aldridge

But while he made strides last season in terms of getting the credit that he rightfully deserved, some still questioned (unfairly, in my opinion) Aldridge’s toughness and, to a lesser extent, his willingness to sacrifice for the good of the team. Those inquiries were put to bed for good when Aldridge decided to keep playing with a torn ligament in his left thumb injured midway through the season rather than undergoing surgery, which would have caused the 6-11 power forward to miss six to eight weeks.

“My idea right now is to play the rest of the season,” said Aldridge on Jan. 25, just a few days after the injury. “But if it gets too much where I can’t handle and I’m not playing at a very good level, I’ll stop. But hopefully it goes well for us.”

Which it did. Aldridge averaged a doubled-double a game even after the injury, an astounding feat considering he was unable to catch the ball with his left hand. Opponents tried and sometimes were successful in targeting Aldridge’s injured left thumb, though it never seemed to take him out of his game for long.

In the end, Aldridge’s sacrifice went somewhat for naught, as the season-ending injury to Wesley Matthews all but scuttled Portland’s status as a darkhorse coming out of the West. But his willingness to play through pain, especially with unrestricted free agency on the horizon, proved once and for all that he’s a certified franchise player.

Aldridge would eventually finish the season with a career-high 23.4 points per game despite playing 35.4 minutes per game, his lowest minutes average since his sophomore season. He also averaged double-digit rebounds for the second consecutive season and shot 35 percent from three on 1.5 attempts per game, making the 2014-15 season one of his best from a statistical perspective.

"This was a special season for us. Whenever you can win 50-plus games, be division champs, make it to the playoffs; none of those things are guaranteed,” said Aldridge. “It didn't end the way that we wanted it to. I thought we fought through a lot of adversity, losing guys and guys being hurt. (Robin Lopez) was out for a long time, then (Wesley Matthews) was out toward the end, so I thought throughout all of the injuries and adversity I thought guys stepped up and got better, so that was good for us.”