LaMarcus Aldridge Named Pro Athlete of the Year at Oregon Sports Awards

Portland Trail Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge received the 2015 Harry Glickman Male Professional Athlete of the Year award at the 63rd annual Oregon Sports Awards at the Nike World Headquarters on Thursday night. Aldridge stood out in a field of candidates that was comprised of professional athletes who either had "an Oregon background" or played "on an Oregon team in the calendar year."

Aldridge has long been one of the state's most talented and hardworking sports performers, and this year his greatness was more apparent than ever. The "L-Train" was an NBA All-star for the fourth consecutive season, was voted onto the All-NBA Second Team, and averaged a career-high 23.4 points per game, all while shrugging off a serious thumb injury to lead the Blazers to 51 wins and a Northwest Division title.

Aldridge now takes his rightful place among a lengthy list of Blazers greats who have taken home the Glickman Award, including Bill Walton, Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter and Brandon Roy. Blazers point guard Damian Lillard was last year's winner.

The event was hosted by ESPN SportsCenter anchor and Oregon alum Neil Everett, and also featured awards for the top high school and college athletes in Oregon this year.

Aldridge proudly talked about the award on Twitter Friday:

I'm truly thankful to be named Oregon Pro Athlete of the Year at Nike last night.

— Lamarcus Aldridge (@aldridge_12) June 12, 2015