2020 NBA DRAFT PICKS: NAIJA BOYS ATUGO DOWN
The annual NBA draft
was held yesterday 18th November, 2020. The ceremony which was
originally planned to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York was now
conducted at ESPN’s facilities in Bristol, Connecticut and attended via
videoconferencing.
Not less than eight
(8) young men of Nigeria descent made the draft, in fact, two of them were
amongst the top ten. This has never happened before and Oja is happy to inform
you that men of direct Igbo ancestry made up most of the super eight.
Meet the Super eight
according to positions on the draft pick:
Isaac Okoro
ISAAC OKORO
Isaac Okoro (born January 26, 2001) is an American
professional basketball player now playing for the Cleveland
Cavaliers of the NBA. He played college
basketball for the Auburn
Tigers.
Okoro
was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Nigerian parents Godwin and Gloria who migrated
from Nigeria to the United States in the 1980s. Okoro started playing
basketball in his local church league.
He is
the 5th overall pick.
Onyeka Okongwu
ONYEKA OKONGWU
Onyeka Okongwu (born December 11, 2000) is an American basketball player who now plays for the Atlanta
Hawks of the National
Basketball Association (NBA). He played college
basketball for the USC
Trojans.
Okongwu
is the son of Nigerian parents, Kate and Mike Okongwu. His mother, who is a
registered nurse, moved to the United States from Nigeria with her family in
1999.
Okongwu
plays with the number 21 jersey in honor of his brother, who had worn the same
number while playing basketball. Okongwu's older brother, Nnamdi, had also
played basketball for Chino Hills High School. In 2014, Nnamdi suffered a brain
injury in a skateboarding accident and died after spending three days on life
support.
He also has a younger brother, Chukwuemeka,
and a younger sister, Chinemya.
He is
the 6th overall pick.
Precious Achiuwa
PRECIOUS
ACHIUWA
Precious Achiuwa (born September 19, 1999) is a Nigerian
professional basketball player who now plays for the Miami Heat of the NBA.
His parents
Donatus and Eunice are both Pentecostal ministers in Port Harcourt Nigeria.
Achiuwa's
older brother, God'sgift Achiuwa, played college basketball for St. John's from
2011 to 2014, and his migration to United States on scholarship paved way for
Precious to follow. Precious has three other brothers aside God’sgift, they are
God'swill, God’slove and Promise, including two sisters, Grace and Peace.
Precious
played college basketball for the Memphis Tigers.
Achiuwa
was selected with the 20th pick in
the 2020 NBA draft by the Miami Heat.
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| Ezekiel Tobechukwu "Zeke" Nnaji |
ZEKE NNAJI
Ezekiel Tobechukwu "Zeke" Nnaji (born January 9, 2001)
Nnaji a
music lover, played baseball and soccer before he started playing basketball
due to his height. He is also very good with the piano.
Nnaji's
father, Alphan, is from Nigeria, while his mother, Janel, is from Minnesota. He
has a younger sister, Maya, who plays high school basketball at Hopkins High
School.
Nnaji
was selected with the 22nd pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets.
Udoka Timothy Azubuike
UDOKA AZUBUIKE
Udoka
Timothy Azubuike (born 17 September 1999) is a Nigerian basketball player who
now plays for the Utah Jazz of the NBA.
Udoka
Azubuike is the youngest of five, with two older brothers and two older
sisters. His father is deceased, a former police officer. Given birth to in
Nigeria, Udoka caught the attention of Basketball Without Borders recruiters and
was offered a scholarship to play basketball in the United States despite not
playing the game until he was 13. Most of his formative years learning
basketball was under the tutelage of Raptors Basketball Academy’s (not the same
as the one in the NBA) Head Coach, Coach Charles Ibeziako.
Azubuike
was selected with the 27th pick in the first round of the 2020 NBA draft by the
Utah Jazz.
Desmond Michael Bane
DESMOND BANE
Desmond
Michael Bane (born June 25, 1998) is an American basketball player now playing
for the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA.
Banehe
started living with his great-grandparents when he was two years old; they
raised him in Richmond, Indiana for most of his childhood. He was already age
13, when he discovered that his father, Etieno Ekiko, was a Nigerian and
resided in Nigeria.
Bane is
the 30th overall pick Selected by the Boston Celtics.
Akinfayoshe Daniel Oturu
DANIEL OTURU
Akinfayoshe
Daniel Oturu (born September 20, 1999) is an American basketball player who now
plays for the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA.
Oturu's
parents Francis and Deborah are Nigerians, Francis played table tennis for the
Nigerian national team and moved to the United States because of his table
tennis career.
Oturu
comes from a Christian family. Both of his parents are ministers at a branch of
the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Oturu
has an older sister, Eunice.
Daniel
is the 33rd overall pick selected by the New York Knicks.
Jordan Nwora
JORDAN NWORA
Jordan
Nwora (born September 9, 1998) is a Nigerian-American basketball player now
playing for the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA.
Jordan
was born to a Nigerian father and American mother in Buffalo, New york. His
father Alexander Nwora, a basketball coach, influenced Jordan’s basketball
career a great deal.
During 2019
FIBA world cup qualifier in 2018, Nwora was called up to be part of the
D'Tigers by his father Alexander Nwora who is the head coach of the team. In
the 2019 FIBA World cup qualifiers in Lagos, Nwora broke the nation’s highest
scoring player record having scored 36 points against Mali, beating Ike Diogu's
record of 31 points.
In the
2020 NBA Draft, Nwora was selected with the 45th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks
Jordan
Nwora is the first son of Alexander Nwora the Erie Community College and
Nigerian National Basketball Team Head Coach and Amy Nwora, an American.
During
the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifier in Lagos, Jordan and his father Alexander
became the first Nigerian Son and Father to represent a Nigerian national team
side at the same time.