Arike Ogunbowale (born March 2, 1997) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American professional basketball team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Wings compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team is owned by a group ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA). She played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

, before being drafted by the Wings with the fifth overall pick of the 2019 WNBA draft. She was the Most Outstanding Player of Notre Dame's 2018 national title run, hitting game-winning baskets in both the semi-final and championship game. Arike Ogunbowale was named WNBA All Star MVP in 2021 and 2024.

Early life

She was born to parents Yolanda Block Ogunbowale and Nigerian expat Gregory Ogunbowale in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. She is the youngest of three children. She is of Yoruba descent and her name ”Arike” means "a child you treasure, cherish, pamper and love" in the Yoruba language. Her father served in the Nigerian military while her mother Yolanda played

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

and her brother

Dare Dare may refer to: Places * Dare, Vera Cruz, a ''suco'' in Vera Cruz administrative post, Dili Municipality, Timor-Leste * Darè, Italy, a comune * Dare County, North Carolina, United States * Dare, Virginia, United States, an unincorporate ...

played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

and is a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. She is also a cousin of basketball player Diamond Stone. From 2009 to 2012, Ogunbowale was part of four Division One Wisconsin State High School Champions soccer teams. Ogunbowale came out of the eighth grade at Our Redeemer Lutheran School in

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin Wauwatosa ( ; colloquially Tosa) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Wauwatosa is a suburb located immediately west of Milwaukee and is part of the Milwa ...

. In her last year at Our Redeemer, Arike helped the Our Redeemer girls’ team win the national championship at the 2011 Tournament of Champions sponsored by the Lutheran Basketball Association of America. She was named the MVP of the tournament.

High school

In high school, she also played as a soccer forward, but decided to focus on basketball after coming to enjoy the sport more. She went on to play high school basketball at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School (DSHA) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. DSHA has long been known for its multiple national and state titles in numerous sports. Ogunbowale returned to DSHA on December 30, 2021, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame there. In the 2014–2015 season, the team won the

Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) is the regulatory body for all high school sports in Wisconsin. Its history dates to 1895, making it the earliest continually existing high school athletic organization in the country. ...

Division I title, with Ogunbowale averaging 27.2 points per game. She scored 55 points in a semi-final game against an undefeated team. Ogunbowale was ranked ninth in the world, named 2015 Wisconsin Miss Basketball and was a McDonald's High School All-America selection.

College career

Ogunbowale averaged 11.4 points per game in her freshman season at Notre Dame as a reserve player, and became a regular starter the next year. In her junior season, Ogunbowale helped the Fighting Irish win the 2018 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, making game-winning baskets in the semifinal against

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

and in the final against

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

. Shortly after the end of the 2017–18 school year, the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

named her as its female

Athlete of the Year Athlete of the Year is an award given by various sports organizations for the athlete whom they have determined to be deserving of such recognition. Definition of "athlete" *In many nations, an "athlete" primarily refers to someone who participa ...

across all sports, sharing honors with men's winner

Lamar Jackson Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. (born January 7, 1997) is an American professional football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals, winning the Heisman T ...

of Louisville football. In her next and final season at Notre Dame, she again helped them to the final of the NCAA tournament but this time, despite contributing 31 points through that match and a tournament average of 22.8 points, she missed 1 of 2 free throws in the final seconds against Baylor, with her miss providing the final 1-point margin.

Professional career

WNBA

Ogunbowale entered the WNBA league in 2019 when she was the fifth overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft by the

. Ogunbowale was selected as the WNBA 2021 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) with 26 points in the team WNBA win versus the women's Olympic squad, Team USA (July 14, 2021). During the 2019 season, she was third in the league in scoring, averaging 19.1 points per game. She scored 20 or more points in 13 of her final 14 games, including the final 11 of the season. After the season, Ogunbowale was named to the All-Rookie Team. In May 2023 she was named the WNBA's Western Conference Player of the Month. Leading up to the May award, in the first week of the season from May 20 to May 28, Ogunbowale averaged a league-high 26.7 points, giving Dallas its first 2–0 season start since 2007. Over four games in May, she ranked third in scoring in the WNBA. In a game where she scored 21 points against Minnesota, she became the 11th player in league history to score over 20 points in the first four games of the season. While playing with the Wings early on, in the winter she played overseas in Turkey and then Russia. She coached at the 2022 NBA Academy Women's Camp during an offseason trip to Saly, Senegal. Also, she played during the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game in Utah. Near the end of the 2022 regular season, she suffered an oblique injury and stayed home for the offseason instead of playing overseas, accepting a player marketing agreement from the WNBA. She didn't play for two months. In May 2023, after a win over the Atlanta Dream, the ''Dallas Morning News'' called her the "cornerstone" of the team. In June 2023, her parents praised the debut of WNBA shows being aired on national television, allowing her games to be seen outside of arenas. In 2023, early that year, she appeared in several State Farm ads. She led the

to a second win over Mercury in front of a sellout crowd in June 2023, scoring a season-high of 35 points for the Wings in a 90–77 win. She sank 12 of 21 shots with five assists. On July 20, 2024, Ogunbowale was named the WNBA All Star Game MVP after scoring 34 points (a WNBA All-Star Game record) with 6 assists—all in the second half. This is the 2nd All Star MVP title for Ogunbowale, who also won the title in 2021. In both cases, the WNBA All Stars were playing against Team USA Olympic teams.

Unrivaled

On July 12, 2024, it was announced that Ogunbowale would appear and play in the inaugural season of Unrivaled, a new women's 3-on-3 basketball league founded by

Napheesa Collier Napheesa Collier ( ; born September 23, 1996), nicknamed "Phee", is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Collier is also a founder of the Unrivaled (basketball le ...

and

Breanna Stewart Breanna Mackenzie Stewart ( ; Born, August 27, 1994), nicknamed "Stewie", is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is one of the most accomplished women in ...

. In the 2025 Unrivaled season she played for Vinyl BC. In the 1v1 tournament of Unrivaled she finished as a semi-finalist, losing to eventual runner-up

Aaliyah Edwards Aaliyah Edwards (born July 9, 2002) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at UConn before being selected sixth overall by the ...

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

''Stats current through end of 2024 season'' , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 33 , , 28 , , 32.1 , , .388 , , .352 , , .815 , , 2.4 , , 3.2 , , 1.1 , , 0.0 , , 2.1 , , 19.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

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, style="background:#d3d3d3;", 22° , , style="background:#d3d3d3;", 22° , , 34.0 , , .412 , , .336 , , .856 , , 2.8 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , 0.0 , , 2.1 , , style="background:#d3d3d3;", 22.8° , - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

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, 32 , , 32 , , 31.3 , , .383 , , .376 , , .864 , , 3.2 , , 3.3 , , 1.1 , , 0.0 , , 2.1 , , 18.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

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, 30 , , 30 , , 31.4 , , .400 , , .352 , , .798 , , 3.3 , , 3.6 , , 1.5 , , 0.1 , , 1.8 , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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, 40 , , 40 , , style="background:#d3d3d3;", 37.2° , , .398 , , .343 , , .876 , , 3.4 , , 4.5 , , 1.7 , , 0.1 , , 2.6 , , 21.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 38 , , 38 , , style="background:#d3d3d3;", 38.6° , , .383 , , .346 , , style="background:#d3d3d3;", .921° , , 4.6 , , 5.1 , , style="background:#d3d3d3;", 2.1° , , 0.3 , , 2.7 , , 22.2 , - class="sortbottom" , rowspan=2 style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 6 years, 1 team , 195 , , 190 , , 34.4 , , .393 , , .350 , , .858 , , 3.3 , , 3.9 , , 1.5 , , 0.1 , , 2.3 , , 20.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;", All-Star , 4 , , 3 , , 25.7 , , .416 , , .391 , , .875 , , 3.8 , , 3.8 , , 1.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.8 , , 22.3

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 1 , , 1 , , 35.0 , , .500 , , .500 , , .500 , , 2.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 22.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , – , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 37.8 , , .388 , , .351 , , .643 , , 4.8 , , 5.2 , , 1.6 , , 0.0 , , 1.4 , , 19.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 3 years, 1 team , 7 , , 6 , , 32.9 , , .393 , , .367 , , .625 , , 3.7 , , 4.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 1.1 , , 17.1

College

, - , width="10%" style="text-align:center;" , 2015–16 , style="text-align:center;", Notre Dame , 35, , 0, , 19.3, , .433, , .391, , .718, , 3.4, , 1.2, , 0.6, , 0.1, , 2.0, , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:center;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:center;", Notre Dame , 37, , 26, , 29.4, , .449, , .454, , .732, , 4.8, , 1.9, , 1.2, , 0.2, , 1.5, , 15.9 , - , style="background:#ffcc00; width:3em; text-align:center;", 2017–18* , style="text-align:center;", Notre Dame , 38, , 38, , 34.3, , .443, , .382, , .796, , 5.4, , 2.8, , 1.4, , 0.1, , 1.4, , style="background:#D3D3D3", 20.8° , - , style="text-align:center;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:center;", Notre Dame , 39, , 39, , 32.7, , .456, , .359, , .804, , 4.9, , 3.8, , 1.9, , 0.1, , 2.0, , style="background:#D3D3D3", 21.8° , - class="sortbottom" , colspan=2; align=center, Career , 149, , 113, , 29.2, , .444, , .393, , .770, , 4.6, , 2.4, , 1.3, , 0.1, , 1.7, , 17.6

Personal life

In April 2018, Ogunbowale was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on season 26 of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

''. She was partnered with professional dancer,

Gleb Savchenko Gleb Savchenko (; born 16 September 1983) is a Russian dancer and choreographer, who is currently a professional dancer on the Dancing with the Stars (U.S. TV series), U.S. version of ''Dancing with the Stars''. He previously appeared on the UK ...

. Ogunbowale and Savchenko were eliminated from the competition on May 7, 2018, placing 7th. On May 19, 2024, Arike announced her engagement to Lala Ronay. Arike's older brother,

, is a professional football player in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

References

External links

* * * * *
Arike Paulina Ogunbowale
at the

Turkish Basketball Federation The Turkish Basketball Federation () is the national federation for basketball in Turkey. It is headquartered in Istanbul. They organize the Basketball Super League, Women's Basketball Super League the Turkish Basketball Cup and the Turkish Bask ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogunbowale, Arike 1997 births 21st-century American LGBTQ people All-American college women's basketball players American people of Yoruba descent American basketball players of Nigerian descent American LGBTQ sportspeople American women's basketball players Basketball players at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics Basketball players from Milwaukee Dallas Wings draft picks Dallas Wings players LGBTQ basketball players LGBTQ people from Wisconsin Living people McDonald's High School All-Americans Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball players Point guards Unrivaled basketball players WNBA All-Stars Yoruba sportswomen Youth Olympic gold medalists for the United States 21st-century American sportswomen