LaMarcus Aldridge has described calls by the Portland Trail Blazers' fans for him to be named this season's most valuable player as "humbling".
The crowd chanted "MVP" as the power forward scored a season-high 38 points during the 111-104 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 28-year-old told reporters: "Just surreal. It was humbling to have that moment here. I've been here so long and I've had very few of those type of chants here. So that was fun. I thought that made the night complete for me."
Coach Terry Stotts added: "I don't know if I have the words, to be honest. Offensively, obviously he can score. But I liked his toughness, I liked his leadership, I liked his competitive fire. As much as he played very well, it was a lot of the intangibles that I really appreciated from him tonight."
Aldridge has averaged 23.5 points per game for the Western Conference leaders so far this season.
Sian Cowper
