Ikechukwu Nwamu (born June 3, 1993) is an American-born Nigerian

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 who last played for Ironi Ness Ziona of the

Israeli Basketball Super League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball co ...

(IBSL). He participated at the

AfroBasket 2017 FIBA AfroBasket 2017 was the 29th edition of the AfroBasket, a men's basketball continental championship of Africa. The tournament was jointly hosted by Tunisia and Senegal. Angola was proposed by FIBA Africa to host the tournament, an offer dec ...

College career

Nwamu spent one season at Cleveland State and two at Mercer. For his senior season, he transferred to

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the ...

. He averaged 11.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Nwamu scored a career-high 38 points and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds on March 9, 2016, in a 108-102 triple overtime win over

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

Professional career

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2016–2018)

2016–2017 seasons

After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft, Nwamu was later selected by the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have cal ...

in the first round (22nd overall) in the 2016 NBA Development League Draft. Nwamu was included in the training camp roster of the

announced two days later. In 47 games for the Skyforce in 2016–2017, he averaged 9.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 24.5 minutes per game.

2017–2018 seasons

On October 23, 2017, Nwamu was included in the training camp roster and later the opening day roster of the

. In 47 games for the Skyforce in 2017–2018, he averaged 14.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1 steal in 29.5 minutes per game. He set a then Skyforce franchise record for most three pointers made in a season with 144 three point field goals.

Lavrio Megabolt (2018)

On April 10, 2018, the Lavrio Megabolt of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

(GBL) had announced their signing of Nwamu for the rest of the season.

2018–2019

In July 2018, Nwamu joined the Miami Heat for the 2018 NBA Summer League. On September 18, 2018, Nwamu signed a training camp deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. On September 20, 2018, Nwamu was waived by the Bucks. He was added to the opening night roster of the

Wisconsin Herd The Wisconsin Herd are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and are affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Herd play their home games at Oshkosh Arena. History On June 29, 2016, it was annou ...

on November 1, 2018. On January 22, 2019, the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and are affiliated with the Indiana Pacers. The team plays their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The Mad ...

announced that they had acquired Nwamu and Jordan Barnett from the

for Elijah Stewart and the returning player rights to Alex Hamilton.

Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2019–2020)

Nwamu returned to the Mad Ants for the 2019–2020 season. In 19 games with the Mad Ants, Nwamu averaged 11.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.7 steals in 23.6 minutes per game.

Northern Arizona Suns (2020)

On January 9, 2020, he was traded to the

Northern Arizona Suns The Motor City Cruise are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Detroit, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Detroit Pistons. The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse. The franchise began play a ...

in exchange for Daxter Miles Jr. Nwamu had nine 20+ point games in his 20 games with the Suns. With all nine coming off the bench, he surpassed Josh Gray (five, 2016–17) for the most 20+ point games off the bench in a single-season in team history. He has also tied the most career 20+ point games off the bench in team history. Nwamu averaged 17.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.8 steals in 27.1 minutes per game.

Cholet Basket (2020)

On June 10, 2020, he signed with

Cholet Cholet (, , probably from Latin ''cauletum'', "cabbage") is a commune of western France in the Maine-et-Loire department. With 54,307 inhabitants (2019), it is the second most populous commune of Maine-et-Loire, after the prefecture Angers. G ...

of the

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league ...

. Nwamu and Cholet parted ways during the preseason.

BC Samara (2021)

On March 10, 2021, he signed with

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population ...

of the

Russian Basketball Super League 1 The Russian Basketball Super League 1, or Super Liga 1, (russian: Баскетбольная Cуперлига 1), formerly known as the Russian Basketball Super League A or the Russian Basketball Super Liga A, is a men's professional basketball ...

. On May 4, 2021, Nwamu lead BC Samara to the Russian Super League 1 Championship after scoring 21 points. In 14 games he led the league in scoring averaging 19.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 28.7 minutes per game. Nwamu was named the Import Player of the Year, All-Russian Super League 1 1st Team 2021, and Most Spectacular Player of the Russian Super League 1 despite only playing 14 games.

Ironi Ness Ziona (2021)

On August 18, 2021, he has signed with Ironi Ness Ziona of the

(IBSL).

References

External links

UNLV Runnin' Rebels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nwamu, Ike 1993 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Greece American men's basketball players American people of Igbo descent American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Los Angeles Basketball players from Greensboro, North Carolina Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball players Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Ironi Nes Ziona B.C. players Mercer Bears men's basketball players Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Nigerian men's basketball players Olympic basketball players of Nigeria Point guards Shooting guards Sioux Falls Skyforce players UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball players Wisconsin Herd players