Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi Okafor (born September 28, 1982) is an American former 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. Okafor attended Bellaire High School in

Bellaire, Texas Bellaire is a city in southwestern Harris County, Texas, United States, within the metropolitan area.. Retrieved on January 24, 2010. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city population was 17,202. It is surrounded by th ...

and the

University of Connecticut 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, ...

, where in 2004 he won a national championship. In his first season in the

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

(NBA) in 2004–05, Okafor played for the Charlotte Bobcats and was named Rookie of the Year. He was traded to the

New Orleans Hornets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

in 2009 and was then dealt to the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

in 2012. However, a herniated disc in his neck caused Okafor to miss four consecutive seasons from 2013 to 2017 before being medically cleared to play.

Early life

Okafor was born in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Both of his parents are natives of

Nigeria Nigeria, 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 Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, and Emeka was the first member of his family born in the United States. His father, Pius Okafor, is a member of the Igbo ethnic group. Okafor's family moved to

Bartlesville, Oklahoma Bartlesville is a city mostly in Washington County and Osage County, Oklahoma. The population was 37,290 at the 2020 census. Bartlesville is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas border. It is the county seat of Washington County. The Cane ...

, when he was young because his father worked for

Phillips Petroleum Company Phillips Petroleum Company was an American oil company incorporated in 1917 that expanded into petroleum refining, marketing and transportation, natural gas gathering and the chemicals sectors. It was Phillips Petroleum that first found oil in th ...

, headquartered in Bartlesville. While in Bartlesville, Okafor's father took his son to the Bartlesville YMCA to learn basketball.

High school career

Okafor played at Bellaire High School with future Oklahoma State star John Lucas III. Okafor averaged 22 points, 16 rebounds and 7 blocks in his senior season. Bellaire was 26–5 in that season, losing 56–42 in the third round of the 2001 UIL state playoffs, to Willowridge High School and future

standout T. J. Ford. This game is particularly notable, however, because it featured five players who would go on to play in an NCAA Final Four (Bellaire had Lucas and Okafor, while Willowridge featured Ford, Oklahoma State's Ivan McFarlin and Duke's Daniel Ewing). All five of these players went on to play at least a season in the NBA. Okafor flew under the recruiting radar for much of his high school career, but by the end of his senior year was receiving late interest from top programs and chose to accept a scholarship at the

, choosing the Huskies over

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

and Vanderbilt.

College career

Okafor played for

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

from 2001 to 2004. He was teammates with Charlie Villanueva, Marcus Williams, Ben Gordon, Hilton Armstrong and Josh Boone, who all went on to play in the NBA. He majored in

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

and graduated with honors after three years in May 2004 with a 3.8

GPA Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...

. Okafor was named the Academic All-American of the Year in 2004 for his work on and off the court. Okafor is noted for his defensive ability, especially his shot-blocking. Although plagued by back problems for most of the 2003–04 season, Okafor led UConn to the program's second national title in six seasons. He was crowned as the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

tournament's Most Outstanding Player. In addition, Okafor led the nation in blocks that season and was also named National Defensive Player of the Year by the

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the men's basketball head coach for the Univ ...

. He also received the Big East Player of the Year award. Okafor graduated as Connecticut's leader in blocked shots with 441. For his collegiate achievements, Okafor was made a member of the 2004 U.S. National Men's Basketball Team that represented the U.S. at the Olympics in Athens. On February 5, 2007, he was inducted to the Husky Ring Of Honor at Gampel Pavilion on the UConn campus in Storrs during halftime of the men's basketball game against the

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East ...

as part of a ceremony that recognized the accomplishments of 13 former players and 3 coaches.

Professional career

Charlotte Bobcats (2004–2009)

2004–05 season: Rookie of the Year

On April 16, 2004, Okafor declared his eligibility for the 2004 NBA draft, giving up his one remaining year of college athletic eligibility. He did, however, receive his undergraduate degree in Accounting/Finance in three academic years at the

. On June 24, Okafor was selected second overall in the draft, becoming the first ever draft pick by the expansion Charlotte Bobcats. The following day, he accepted an invitation to join the United States team for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, which finished with the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. The 2004–05 season was a successful campaign as Okafor coped well with the pressures of being the star rookie on an expansion franchise. Highlights of the season included recording 19 straight double-doubles from November 21 through January 1, and finishing seventh among Eastern Conference forwards in

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is the annual all-star game hosted each February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's All-star, star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of ...

fan balloting with 408,082 votes, by far the highest number garnered by any

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

in 2005. At the end of the season, Okafor beat out his friend and former college teammate and roommate,

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

guard Ben Gordon, to win the

NBA Rookie of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb Tr ...

On June 24, 2005, the Bobcats picked up the option for the fourth year on Okafor's contract, as he quickly established himself as the face of the franchise, and a solid player for years to come. Okafor finished his rookie season with 44.7% field goal percentage and per-game averages of 15.1 points, 10.9 rebounds (ranked 4th in the league), and 1.7 blocks.

2005–06 season

In the 2005 offseason, Okafor's weight increased from 260 to 280 lbs. It was this weight gain which he felt caused him to have trouble rehabbing his early season ankle injury and forced him to sit out most of the 2005–06 season with injuries to his ankle. Nonetheless, in the few games he played he was effective as he averaged a double-double for the second consecutive season. On November 4, 2005, Okafor scored a season high 24 points, alongside grabbing 11 rebounds, in a 110–93 victory over the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. For the season he finished with averages of 13.2 points on 41.5% shooting, 10.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.

2006–07 season

During the offseason he continued his tutorials with

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon ( ; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian and American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NB ...

, which he took up after his rookie season, and lost the 20 pounds which he had gained for his second season. Okafor felt this weight loss gave him more energy and mobility. He led the Bobcats in rebounds per game, blocks per game, and field goal percentage. On December 29, 2006, in a home game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Emeka would record 22 points, 25 rebounds, and 4 blocks in over 51 minutes of play, in an epic 133–124 triple overtime victory. He also had eight blocks in games against the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics. On January 12, 2007, he would record an NBA season high ten blocks in a game against the New York Knicks. His ten blocks were the most ever recorded in a single game at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

. In that game, he was one rebound away from recording the first ever triple-double in franchise history, finishing with 20 pts, 10 blocks, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals. Later in the season, he suffered an ankle injury which caused him to miss fifteen games. He finished the season averaging 14.4 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 67 games.

2007–08 season

Prior to the start of the 2007–08 season, Okafor turned down a contract extension with the Charlotte Bobcats worth an estimated US$60 million over five years. Despite turning down the contract, Okafor maintained that he indeed wanted to remain with the Bobcats. Despite feuding with head coach Sam Vincent throughout the season, Okafor still managed to average a double-double for the fourth consecutive season of his career. He also played in all 82 games of the regular season for the first time in his career. At the end of the season head coach Sam Vincent was fired by part-owner Michael Jordan saying in a statement: "The decision to remove Sam as head coach after just one season was difficult, but it was a decision that had to be made because my first obligation is to do what is in the best interest of our team."

2008–09 season

During the off-season, the Bobcats' top priority was to re-sign their face of the franchise. Through tough negotiations the Bobcats and Okafor eventually reached an agreement on a six-year, $72 million deal, the largest in franchise history. In a statement, Okafor voiced his pleasure with remaining in the organization now coached by the legendary Larry Brown: "The Bobcats and the entire Charlotte community embraced me from day one, and it's exciting to enter this season with a Hall of Fame coach and teammates who are committed to winning." Okafor entered the 2008–09 season with active franchise-record streaks of 93 consecutive games played and 92 consecutive games started. That year Okafor played in all 82 regular season games for the second straight season (starting in all but one game) and averaged a double-double for a fifth straight season. In his final season for the Bobcats, Okafor averaged 13.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game. But at the end of that 2008–2009 season, Bobcats head coach Larry Brown publicly questioned Okafor's passion. “I tease him that he’s got an A in stretching and pilates and yoga. I want him to have an A in basketball,” Brown said to reporters two days after Charlotte finished the season with a 35–47 record. “It makes older people feel great, but he’s got to work on his game.... There’s no better guy than him, I just want him to have a passion to play the sport because it ends so quickly.”

New Orleans Hornets (2009–2012)

On July 28, 2009, Okafor was traded to the

in exchange for Tyson Chandler. Charlotte head coach Larry Brown was reportedly willing jettison the franchise's first ever draft pick for another 26-year-old center who is three inches taller because it brought financial relief and because, at 6-foot-10, he felt Okafor had trouble guarding the NBA's top big men. During the 2009–10 season, Okafor played in all 82 games for the third season in a row but just missed extending his streak of five seasons averaging a double-double with 10.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Head coach

Byron Scott Byron Antom Scott (born March 28, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a role player, Scott won three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during the ...

was fired after a disappointing 3–6 start and replaced by GM Jeff Bower. The team finished last in the Southwest Division with a 37–45 record. At the end of the season, Bower stepped down from his coaching duties and returned to his position as a general manager. He was replaced by

Monty Williams Tavares Montgomery Williams (born October 8, 1971) is an American professional basketball coach, executive, and former player of the National Basketball Association (NBA) who is the head coach of the TMI Episcopal’s boys basketball team. He pre ...

. During the 2010–11 season, Okafor helped New Orleans make the playoffs and appeared in his first-ever NBA playoff series. The Hornets finished the regular season 46-36 good for third place in the Southwest Division. Facing the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

in the first round of the postseason, Okafor scored 15 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in a 100-86 Game 3 loss, both of which would end up being postseason career highs. The Hornets lost the series 4–2. The following 2011–12 season, Okafor averaged 9.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. But the Hornets struggled and traded away their star point guard

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and "the Point God", is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded by some as one of the greatest p ...

plus two second-round draft picks mid-season to the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

for Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman, and an unprotected first-round draft pick. On December 28, 2011, Okafor scored 13 points to go with a season-high 6 blocks in a 97–78 win over the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

Washington Wizards (2012–2013)

On June 20, 2012, Okafor was traded, along with

Trevor Ariza Trevor Anthony Ariza (born June 30, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who spent 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A small forward, Ariza played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins ...

, to the

in exchange for Rashard Lewis and the 46th pick of the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball A ...

. Okafor went on to be named a finalist for the inaugural Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year Award for his contributions with the team on and off the court. On October 25, 2013, days before the start of the 2013–14 season, Okafor was traded, along with a 2014 protected first-round draft pick, to the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

in exchange for Marcin Gortat, Shannon Brown, Kendall Marshall and Malcolm Lee. However, he missed the entire season due to a herniated disc in his neck that was discovered in September 2013, and remained unsigned throughout the 2014–15 season, the 2015–16 season, and the 2016–17 season. On May 30, 2017, Okafor was medically cleared to play.

Delaware 87ers (2017–2018)

On September 25, 2017, Okafor signed with the

. However, he was waived on October 14 after appearing in five preseason games. Later that month, he joined the Delaware 87ers of the

NBA 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 ...

Return to New Orleans (2018)

On February 3, 2018, Okafor signed a 10-day contract with the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

. He made his Pelicans debut two days later, playing in the NBA for the first time since 2013. He played nine minutes and had three points and two rebounds in a 133–109 loss to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

. He signed a second 10-day contract on February 14, and a rest-of-season contract on February 26. Filling in for the injured DeMarcus Cousins, Okafor averaged 4.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1 block in 26 regular-season games, including 19 starts. He was waived by the Pelicans on September 19, 2018, just before the start of training camp. Okafor signed with the

on September 21, 2018, before being waived on October 13. Because Okafor was waived by Philadelphia before the season started, the end of the 2017–18 season with the Pelicans ended up being his final playing time in the NBA. His final game was Game 3 of the 2018 Western Conference First Round against 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 Northwest Division (N ...

on April 19, 2018. The Pelicans won the game 119–102 with Okafor playing minutes and only recording 1 foul as a stat.

Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus (2019–2020)

On November 22, 2019, Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus reported that they had added Okafor to their roster. Okafor made his debut for them on December 4, 2019, coming off from bench with a double-double of 11 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two blocks in a 60–65 loss to the

Anyang KGC The Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters () is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League, based at Anyang Gymnasium in the city of Anyang. The club has won four KBL championship titles ( 2011–12, 2016–17, 2020–21, and 2 ...

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 73 , , 73 , , 35.6 , , .447 , , .000 , , .609 , , 10.9 , , .9 , , .8 , , 1.7 , , 15.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 26 , , 25 , , 33.6 , , .415 , , — , , .656 , , 10.0 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , 1.9 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 67 , , 65 , , 34.8 , , .532 , , — , , .593 , , 11.3 , , 1.2 , , .9 , , 2.6 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 33.1 , , .535 , , — , , .570 , , 10.7 , , .9 , , .8 , , 1.7 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 81 , , 32.8 , , .561 , , — , , .593 , , 10.1 , , .6 , , .6 , , 1.7 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 28.9 , , .530 , , — , , .562 , , 9.0 , , .7 , , .7 , , 1.5 , , 10.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 72 , , 72 , , 31.8 , , .573 , , .000 , , .562 , , 9.5 , , .6 , , .6 , , 1.8 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 27 , , 28.9 , , .533 , , — , , .514 , , 7.9 , , .9 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 79 , , 77 , , 26.0 , , .477 , , — , , .571 , , 8.8 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 19 , , 13.6 , , .505 , , — , , .818 , , 4.6 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , 4.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 616 , , 603 , , 30.9 , , .512 , , .000 , , .586 , , 9.7 , , .8 , , .7 , , 1.6 , , 12.0

Playoffs

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

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

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

, 6 , , 6 , , 31.3 , , .645 , , — , , .364 , , 5.5 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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

, 1 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .000 , , — , , — , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 7 , , 6 , , 27.4 , , .625 , , — , , .364 , , 4.7 , , .0 , , .9 , , .9 , , 6.3

Personal life

Okafor's first name, Chukwuemeka, means "God has done well" in the

Igbo language Igbo ( , ; Standard Igbo: ''Ásụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò'' ) is the principal native language cluster of the Igbo people, an ethnicity in the Southeastern part of Nigeria. Igbo languages are spoken by a total of 31 million people. The number of Igbo ...

. He appeared on the cover of '' NCAA March Madness 2005'' video game. Okafor appeared as himself in the second season of the TV show '' One Tree Hill''. Okafor also appeared as himself in the second season of the TV show '' Power Book II: Ghost''. Okafor is a distant cousin of fellow NBA player

Jahlil Okafor Jahlil Obika Okafor (; born December 15, 1995) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Noblesville Boom of the NBA G League. He played his freshman season of college basketball for the 2014–15 Duke Blue Devils men's baske ...

. He has two children with his wife Ilana Nunn, the daughter of former NBA referee and director of officiating - hall of famer Ronnie Nunn.

References

External links

*
UConn bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okafor, Emeka 1982 births Living people Nigerian men's basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American people of Igbo descent American basketball players of Nigerian descent Basketball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Oklahoma Basketball players from Houston Bellaire High School (Bellaire, Texas) alumni Centers (basketball) Charlotte Bobcats draft picks Charlotte Bobcats players Delaware 87ers players Igbo sportspeople Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics New Orleans Hornets players New Orleans Pelicans players Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in basketball Pan American Games basketball players for the United States Sportspeople from Bartlesville, Oklahoma Power forwards UConn Huskies men's basketball players United States men's national basketball team players Washington Wizards players Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus players 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen