SAN FRANCISCO, November 16, (THEWILL) –Â A record number of young basketball talents of Nigerian origin are in consideration for inclusion into some of the best basketball teams in the world. As many as seven Nigeria-origin players, two of whom were actually born in the country, have the chance of a lifetime to make history.
If the pair of them born in Nigeria, Precious Achiuwa and Udoka Azubuike, are selected in the top 30, it will be the first time that two players from Nigeria will be selected in the first round of the same NBA Draft.
Together with Achiuwa and Azubuike, Onyeka Okongwu, Isaac Okoro, Zeke Nnaji, Daniel Oturu, and Jordan Nwora are the others on the cards.
“I think it’s big,” Achiuwa said in reaction to the possibility. “It just shows there’s a big talent culture in Nigeria when it comes to basketball, athleticism and athletes as a whole in general.
“It speaks to how competitive we are and our willingness to be better in whatever we do. It is a testament both to how far the Nigerian community in the USA has come, and how much basketball has grown back home.”
For historical context, when Akeem Olajuwon, in 1984, was drafted number one overall to the NBA, ahead of even Michael Jordan, he was the lone Nigerian, even African, in that entire Draft Class.
However, it will be another decade before another player of Nigerian descent was NBA-drafted. It happened in 1994 when the New Jersey Nets picked up Yinka Dare from George Washington. Another four years passed before Michael Olowokandi was drafted number one overall by the LA Clippers.
And now, thirty six years from that first, pivotal draft, the 2020 NBA Draft Class boasts the highest number of players of Nigerian origin.
All told, there are more than 30 current and former NBA players with Nigerian roots, including the likes of Andre Iguodala, Victor Oladipo, Bam Adebayo, and the Antetokounmpo brothers, led of course by legendary Hall of Famer Olajuwon.
Achiuwa said the current class will seek to carry on the trend into the next generations. “I think we have the opportunity to keep that legacy going, especially that Nigerian representation in the NBA.
One person who helped to make this representation happen was in a similar situation about 20 years ago. He is the former Nigeria captain Olumide Oyedeji who was drafted out of German team DJK Wurzburg and has run basketball camps every year in Nigeria for 20 straight years until this year’s coronavirus interruption.
More than 35,000 kids have passed through the camp in those 20 years, including Azubuike.
Having played three seasons himself in the NBA, Oyedeji projects that the number will rise in the future. He also expects the players to continue to light the way for others, as he has done.
“We are a country of about 200 million people and with the way Nigerians are migrating to the USA, don’t be surprised to see 20 in the next Draft Classes in the future.
“We already have three projected to go in the lottery this year. It is a positive thing and I feel proud. For other people back home, it is just the same way. We just have to translate it to sports development back home.
“And they should know and remember where they come from because it goes beyond basketball.”
A notable member of the Draft Class, Okongwu is in contention for not just for the Top 5 pick, but stands to rival James Wiseman, Lamelo Ball, and Anthony Edwards for the number one overall pick. And he has the confidence to match.
“I feel like I’m higher than all of them,” he said, brimming with self-assurance. “I just do all the little things well. I just play basketball. I know how to win.”
Isaac Okoro, the 6’6 shooting guard/small forward from Auburn, is another pick that is rated highly. Nwora already represents Nigeria senior men’s basketball team, D’Tigers. Oturu’s dad, Francis, on the other hand, represented Nigeria in the table tennis delegation.
Also pivotal to the increase of Nigerian names in the NBA is Fubara Onyanabo. A little-known name but he has mentored a long list of players, including some currently representing in Nigeria’s national team.
Achiuwa was not shy of paying tribute to Onyanabo, who coached the player’s elder brother: “He is doing a great job, advancing the game and making sure that the kids back home have a way to learn the game.
“He is providing resources for the kids and I think that that is absolutely big having someone that is so passionate about basketball back home. I think that is really important.”
Onyanabo also coached Nigeria’s national teams at various age levels. With no resources, he poured his heart and soul and money into running the basketball camps that have benefited so many. Yet, his priorities haven’t changed.
“For me, it is a passion and a calling,” Onyanabo explains. “After my playing career ended, I found that although kids around me loved basketball and loved watching the NBA, they did not have the right skills to play, so I decided to start training them.
“For me, it is not about talents that are exported outside Nigeria. It is the ability to keep these young people busy and channel their energy towards positive and productive ventures here in Nigeria.”My fulfilment is the ability to put smiles on the faces of these kids. They don’t pay to learn or play basketball. We just want to keep them happy and away from trouble.”
It is not only Nigerians that are making waves as there is also some other history to be made at an African level.
The 2020 Draft also includes Mamadi Diakite, who was born in Guinea, Paul Eboua, born in Cameroon, Karim Mane and Lamine Diane, both born in Senegal. If they are all drafted it would break the record for the most players to be drafted from the continent. For contrast, four were drafted in 2016.
Whatever happens, Oyedeji has some words of advice: “The work starts when they are drafted. They have to be ready at all times, even if they are on the bench. Always be ready to be the next man up.”
Source: ESPN
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
