Ikenna Nwankwo (born December 27, 1973) is a

Nigerian-American Nigerian Americans (; ; ) are Americans who are of Nigerian ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigrants residing in the United States is rapidly growing, expanding from a small 1980 population of 25,000. The 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) ...

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. From

Houston, Texas 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 ...

, he 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 ...

with the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

, winning a national championship in 1995.

College career

Nwankwo played with the

, and won a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

on their 1994–95 team. In his second year as a

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

behind

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

George Zidek Jiří "George" Zídek Jr. (born 2 August 1973), is a Czech former professional basketball player who is a sports commentator. He played college basketball in the United States for the UCLA Bruins from 1991 to 1995. He then became the first Czech ...

, he played in a career-high 23 games, averaging 2.7

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 ...

and 1.6

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 ...

. After Zidek graduated, Nwankwo anticipated a larger role in 1995–96; however, freshman

Jelani McCoy Jelani Marwan McCoy (born December 6, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'10" power forward/ center, he played in the NBA from 1998 to 2007 for the Seattle SuperSonics, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, Cleveland C ...

became the starting center instead. Seeking more playing time, Nwankwo transferred to

Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

in January 1996.

Professional career

Nwankwo began his professional career in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

with the

Cocodrilos de Caracas Cocodrilos de Caracas () is a Venezuelan professional basketball club based in Caracas. Established in 1990, the club competes in the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto (SPB), and has won the national championship six times. The Cocodrilos' home ...

. After a very successful stint where he was the league

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: ...

he then moved to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

where he was an MVP candidate in Puerto Rico, with Quebradillas Pirates of the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

( BSN) from 1998 to 1999. In 1998 Nwankwo also played his first season in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

where he would play for the next two seasons. He played with

Tuborg Tuborg is a Danish brewing company founded in 1873 on a harbour in Hellerup, to the north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Since 1970 it has been part of the Carlsberg Group. The brewery's flagship, the Tuborg pilsner, was brewed for the first time in ...

where he led the league in rebounds at 10. 1 per game. He returned to Tuborg the following year until a knee injury cut his season short. He then signed in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

with

Prokom Trefl Sopot Arka Gdynia, also known as AMW Arka Gdynia for sponsorship reasons, is a Polish professional basketball team, based in Gdynia. The team plays in the Polish PLK. The club's sponsorship name comes from Akademią Marynarki Wojennej. Historically t ...

. Nwankwo signed with the

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

of the

NBA 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 ...

in 2000, the following year he signed with the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

. From 2001 to 2003, Nwankwo played for several European clubs including

MBC Dynamo Moscow MBC Dynamo Moscow () was a Russian basketball team from Moscow. It was active for 93 years (from 1923 until 2016) as professional club, before being dissolved due to financial problems. The club had several successful years in the highest divisi ...

of the

Russian Superleague The Russian Superleague (, ''Russian Championship Superleague''), commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was considered the second-best league in the world, after the Nation ...

. In 2003 Nwankwo joined the

Huntsville Flight Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 r ...

(now

Albuquerque Thunderbirds Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County. Founded in 1706 as ' by Santa Fe de Nuevo México gover ...

) of the

National Basketball Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. 2004 saw Nwankwo return to Turkey, where he played with Darüşşafaka S.K. of the

Turkish Basketball League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The ...

( TBL). Since 2005, Nwankwo has played in the

Portuguese Basketball League (LCB) The Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol (), also known as Liga Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional club basketball league in Portugal. History From the 2008–09 season onward, the competition has been again organised by ...

(2005 with

CAB Madeira Clube Amigos do Basquete, also known as CAB Madeira, is a professional basketball team based in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring ...

and since 2006 with

CA Queluz Clube Atlético de Queluz is a professional basketball team based in Queluz, Portugal. The team plays in the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol. History In the 2005–06 season, Queluz participated in the ULEB Cup after winning the league the pr ...

. Basketpedya.com

NBA teams

Nwankwo signed to play with an NBA squad every year from 2000 to 2004 except 2003, with the

(2000),

(2001),

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 Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

(2002) and 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 ...

(2004) seasons.

International career

Although born in the United States, Nwankwo has represented the land of his ancestry, Nigeria, in international competition. He played for

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, ...

at the

FIBA Africa Championship 2003 The 2003 FIBA Africa Championship was the 22nd FIBA Africa Championship, played under the rules of FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, and the FIBA Africa thereof. The tournament was hosted by Egypt from August 7 to 16 2003. Angola d ...

and

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised b ...

Coaching career

After his playing career ended, Nwankwo started a basketball academy for kids in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

in 2010, which he later launched in Hong Kong as well.

Personal

His name "Ikenna" means "The Father's Strength" in

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a t ...

References

External links