Nwachukwu Iheukwumere Chima Moneke (born 24 December 1995) is a Nigerian 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

KK Crvena Zvezda Košarkaški klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Кошаркашки клуб Црвена звезда, ), usually referred to as KK Crvena zvezda or simply Crvena zvezda, currently named Crvena zvezda Meridianbet for sponsorship reasons, is a men ...

of the

Basketball League of Serbia The Basketball League of Serbia (), commonly abbreviated as KLS, is a Serbian basketball league system, top-tier men's professional basketball Sports league, league in Serbia. Founded in 2006. It is currently not run by the Basketball Federation o ...

(KLS), the

ABA League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedoni ...

and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. At tall, he plays at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

position. He also represents the Nigerian national team in international competition.

Early life

Moneke was born in

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

, Nigeria, before moving to Canberra, Australia to begin schooling. His parents, Sydney and Eucharia Moneke, were diplomats of the Nigerian embassy. He attended Farrer Primary School and Lake Ginninderra College before traveling again throughout the world.

College career

In 2013, Moneke enrolled at

Northeast Community College Northeast Community College is a public community college system in northeast Nebraska with four campuses: Norfolk, O'Neill, South Sioux City, and West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a U ...

Norfolk, Nebraska Norfolk ( or ) is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles northwest of Omaha and 76 miles southwest of Sioux City, Iowa, at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,955 at the 2020 census, mak ...

, where he stayed for two seasons (2013–15). In his sophomore season he averaged 17 ppg and 12.1 rpg which led the team to a 25–7 record. He then transferred to the

University of California at Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institution was ...

. After his

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

season, he led the Aggies to an NCAA tournament berth for the first time in school history in the 2016–17 season. He was named

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

tournament MVP. In the tournament they defeated North Carolina Central in the play-in game in which Moneke had 18 points and 12 rebounds. They would go on to lose to the #1 overall seed

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, where Moneke finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds. He averaged 14.6 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game with 14 double-doubles. In the 2017–18 season, he averaged 18.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per performance in 21 games with the Aggies.

Professional career

Rouen Métropole (2018)

After not being selected in the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including internationa ...

, Moneke signed his first professional contract with Rouen Métropole of the French

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the second-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since the year 1987. The regular se ...

. After the season, he signed with the

South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Wantirna South, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The t ...

of the Australian NBL before it was blown off due to problems with his passport.

Denain Voltaire (2018–2019)

In November 2018, he would leave Rouen Métropole to sign for Denain Voltaire, also from the French

. He averaged 14.3

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

, 6.6

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

and 1.7 assists in 27 games.

Béliers de Kemper (2019–2020)

In the 2019–20 season, he signed for the Béliers de Kemper of the French LNB Pro B, in which he averaged 15.8 points, 6.75 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. The season was cancelled early due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in France The COVID-19 pandemic in France has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was confirmed to have reached France on 24 January 2020, when the first COVID-19 case in both Europe and France was identified in Bordeaux. T ...

Orléans Loiret (2020–2021)

In the 2020–21 season, he signed for the Orléans Loiret of the

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

, with averages of 12.5 points, 6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and almost a block per performance in the 21 games played.

Manresa (2021–2022)

On 13 July 2021, Moneke signed a one-year deal with the

Bàsquet Manresa Club Bàsquet Manresa S.A.D., also known as Baxi Manresa for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Manresa, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the Champions League. It home arena is the Pavelló Nou Congost. In ...

of the Spanish

Liga Endesa The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

and the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European sports club, clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the European professional club basketball system ...

(BCL). He helped Manresa to a surprising season in the BCL as they reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

where they lost to

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

in the final. Moneke was named the

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of the 2021–22 season after averaging 13.1 points per game. In the Spanish ACB, Moneke was named to the ALL-ACB 1st team after leading Manresa to the playoffs. He averaged 14.8 points per game on 53% shooting. He was second in the entire league in rebounding with 8.4 per game. He led the entire league in total steals (56), steals per game (1.6) and defensive rebounds.

Sacramento Kings (2022–2023)

On 18 July 2022, Moneke signed with the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

, uniting with Nigeria's national team coach Mike Brown. On 6 January 2023, Moneke was waived by the Kings.

AS Monaco (2023)

On January 16, 2023, Moneke signed with

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...

of the

LNB Élite The LNB Élite, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is a professional basketball league in France and is the highest level of the French basketball system. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nat ...

and the

Saski Baskonia (2023–2025)

On July 19, 2023, Moneke signed with

Saski Baskonia Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D commonly known as Saski Baskonia () and also simply as Baskonia, is a professional basketball team based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLea ...

of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

and the

. On November 17, 2023, Moneke recorded a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

with 19 points and 13

in an 88-81 win against

LDLC ASVEL ASVEL Basket, currently known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team located in the commune of Villeurbanne, a suburb of Lyon, France. The club, which is the basketball section of the ASVEL multi-sports ...

Crvena zvezda (2025–present)

On June 24, 2025, Moneke signed with

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

of the

(KLS),

and the

National team career

He debuted with the

Nigeria men's national basketball team The Nigeria men's national basketball team represents Nigeria in international basketball, and it is governed by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF). In March 2021, the global governing body FIBA ranked Nigeria as Africa's top men's bask ...

in 2020, playing three qualifying matches for the

Afrobasket The AfroBasket (alternatively known as the FIBA Africa Championship, FIBA African Championship, or FIBA AfroBasket) is the men's basketball continental championship contested by the senior national teams of Africa Africa is the world's s ...

. In 2021, he was summoned for the pre-selection to compete in the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Career statistics

NBA

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

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, 2 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .500 , , , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , , , , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 2 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .500 , , , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , , , , , 1.0

EuroLeague

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

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

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

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, 16 , , 1 , , 12.6 , , .476 , , .000 , , .885 , , 3.1 , , .5 , , .3 , , .2 , , 3.9 , , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;", Baskonia , 34 , , 7 , , 24.7 , , .531 , , .353 , , .764 , , 6.6 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 13.6 , , 18.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024–25 , style="text-align:left;", Baskonia , 33 , , 29 , , 28.2 , , .495 , , .295 , , .813 , , 6.1 , , 2.3 , , .9 , , .3 , , 14.0 , , 18.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 83 , , 37 , , 24.8 , , .511 , , .316 , , .792 , , 5.7 , , 1.6 , , .9 , , .4 , , 11.9 , , 15.8

Basketball Champions League

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

Manresa Manresa () is the capital of Bages county, located in the central region of Catalonia, Spain. Crossed by the river Cardener, it is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged aro ...

, 15 , , 8 , , 22.2 , , .588 , , .350 , , .713 , , 6.3 , , 1.1 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 13.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 15 , , 8 , , 22.2 , , .588 , , .350 , , .713 , , 6.3 , , 1.1 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 13.9

Domestic leagues

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;" ! Year ! Team ! League ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , , style="text-align:left;", Rouen Métropole , , style="text-align:center;",

Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the second-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since the year 1987. The regular sea ...

, , 3 , , 16.0 , , .286 , , 1.000 , , .667 , , 3.3 , , .7 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , , style="text-align:left;", Denain Voltaire , , style="text-align:center;",

, , 27 , , 27.2 , , .556 , , .417 , , .803 , , 6.6 , , 1.7 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , , style="text-align:left;", UJAP Quimper , , style="text-align:center;",

, , 24 , , 27.6 , , .563 , , .383 , , .726 , , 6.7 , , 1.7 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, , style="text-align:left;", Orléans Loiret , , style="text-align:center;",

, , 31 , , 23.4 , , .628 , , .333 , , .781 , , 6.4 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 36 , , 24.1 , , .521 , , .290 , , .735 , , 8.2 , , 1.5 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

Stockton Kings The Stockton Kings are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Stockton, California, and are affiliated with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings play their home games at the Adventist Health Arena and compete in the G ...

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

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

, , 2 , , 28.2 , , .375 , , .000 , , .500 , , 7.0 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

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

, , 11 , , 18.1 , , .720 , , .500 , , .838 , , 4.0 , , 1.1 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , , style="text-align:left;", Baskonia , , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 28 , , 24.6 , , .542 , , .415 , , .777 , , 6.6 , , 1.6 , , .9 , , .4 , , 15.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024–25 , , style="text-align:left;", Baskonia , , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 31 , , 25.1 , , .481 , , .365 , , .791 , , 5.0 , , 2.4 , , .7 , , .4 , , 12.7

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="11",

Redshirt , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 33 , , 27.3 , , .527 , , , , .645 , , 9.5 , , .8 , , .9 , , 1.4 , , 14.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 21 , , 30.0 , , .515 , , .375 , , .714 , , 9.6 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 18.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 57 , , 54 , , 28.3 , , .522 , , .375 , , .674 , , 9.5 , , .9 , , .9 , , 1.3 , , 16.0

Personal

Moneke attended Canberra High School and Lake Ginninderra College in Canberra, Australia where he played high school basketball with

Danté Exum Danté Exum ( ; born 13 July 1995) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He chose to bypass college and was ultimately selected by the Utah Jazz with the fifth over ...

References

External links

Chima Moneke
at

RealGM RealGM.com is a sports website created in 2000. The site was originally a basketball site, but has since expanded its scope to provide information about American football, baseball, ice hockey and soccer. According to Alexa, the site ranked in th ...

FIBA

UC Davis Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moneke, Chima 1995 births Living people Australian men's basketball players Bàsquet Manresa players Denain Voltaire Basket players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States KK Crvena zvezda players Liga ACB players NBA players from Nigeria Nigerian expatriate basketball people in France Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Serbia Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Spain Nigerian men's basketball players Nigeria men's national basketball team players Orléans Loiret Basket players Power forwards Rouen Métropole Basket players Sacramento Kings players Saski Baskonia players Sportspeople from Abuja Stockton Kings players UC Davis Aggies men's basketball players Undrafted NBA players 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen 21st-century Australian sportsmen