Chukwuma Julian "Chuma" Okeke (born August 18, 1998) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was estab ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). Okeke played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

before being drafted 16th overall in the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

by the

High school career

Okeke attended Westlake High School in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

. As a junior, he won the Georgia Class 6A state championship, scoring 13 points in a 68–58 win over

Pebblebrook High School Pebblebrook High School is a high school in the Cobb County School District in Mableton, Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southe ...

. Okeke was named

Mr. Georgia Basketball Each year the Mr. Georgia Basketball award is given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in the U.S. state of Georgia. The award winner is selected by members of the Atlanta Tip Off Club. Award winners See also Mis ...

after his senior season, after he averaged 24.4 points, 15 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. He was a consensus four-star recruit and was ranked among the top 50 players in his class by some scouting services.

College career

Okeke played with the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

of Auburn University. In his freshman season, Okeke averaged 7.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He grabbed 197 rebounds in the season, the most by an Auburn freshman since Jeff Moore in 1984–85. As a sophomore, Okeke averaged 12 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game while starting in all 38 games. On March 29, 2019, in a Sweet 16 win over top-seeded

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

at the 2019 NCAA tournament, he

tore Tore is a Scandinavian masculine name. It is derived from the Old Norse name ''Thórir'', which is composed of ''thorr'' which means thunder, and ''arr'' which means warrior. So Thunder Warrior or Thor's Warrior. The most famous person by this na ...

his ACL and was injured for the rest of the tournament. Despite his absence, Auburn advanced to its first Final Four appearance in program history.

Professional career

Orlando Magic (2020–present)

On June 20, 2019, Okeke was selected with the 16th overall pick by the

in the

. Okeke was considered to be a lottery pick in the draft, but after suffering an ACL injury in the 2019 NCAA tournament, he fell to the 16th selection by the Magic, and was referred to by ESPN analyst, Mike Schmitz as the "steal of the draft." During his rehab, Okeke signed a one-year

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

contract with the Magic's affiliate in Lakeland with the intent of starting his rookie-scale contract in 2020. At the time, the Magic faced a salary cap crunch that prevented them from adding Okeke's rookie salary to their books. He reported to Lakeland's training camp as a draft rights player on October 28, 2019. However, Okeke never played a game with Lakeland. On November 16, 2020, the

announced that they had signed Okeke. In a preseason game against the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

, Okeke recorded 9 points with 2 three-pointers. On March 26, 2021, Okeke scored a career-high 22 points on 60 percent shooting from the field in a 105-112 loss over the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. Okeke averaged over 12 points after the trade deadline before suffering a season-ending minor ankle injury against the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

Career statistics

Regular season

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

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures r ...

, 45 , , 19 , , 25.2 , , .417 , , .348 , , .750 , , 4.0 , , 2.2 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 70 , , 20 , , 25.0 , , .376 , , .318 , , .846 , , 5.0 , , 1.7 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , 8.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 115 , , 39 , , 25.1 , , .390 , , .326 , , .810 , , 4.6 , , 1.9 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 8.3

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", Auburn , 34 , , 0 , , 21.6 , , .458 , , .391 , , .673 , , 5.8 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .7 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Auburn , 38 , , 38 , , 29.1 , , .496 , , .387 , , .722 , , 6.8 , , 1.9 , , 1.8 , , 1.2 , , 12.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 72 , , 38 , , 25.5 , , .481 , , .389 , , .703 , , 6.3 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 9.9

Personal life

Okeke's father Chuka Okeke is from

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

References

External links

*
Auburn Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okeke, Chuma 1998 births Living people American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Auburn Tigers men's basketball players Basketball players from Atlanta Orlando Magic draft picks Orlando Magic players Power forwards (basketball)