Nneka Ogwumike is an American-born basketball player who currently plays for the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. Nneka Ogwumike was born on July 2, 1990, to Nigerian parents and started playing basketball right out of high school.
As a student at Cypress-Fairbanks High School in Cypress, Texas, she played on her school’s team and led them to a 5A State Championship in their last season. During the 2007-08 season, she averaged 16.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 2.4 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game.
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She participated in the 2008 WBCA High School All-America Game, scoring 17 points and rebounds 6 times before receiving the MVP honors for the white team. Nneka Ogwumike was also named WBCA All-American.
Nneka also played college basketball before she was drafted by the L.A. Sparks to be the No. 1 overall in the 2012 WNBA Draft. She chose to play for Stanford instead of playing for players like Tennessee, Notre Dame, Baylor, Connecticut, and Duke.
At Stanford, she helped the Cardinal advance to the Final Four four four times, finishing second in the final four with 2,491 points after Candice Wiggins, and was the fourth player in Stanford history to score 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. She was also named Pac-12 Player of the Year, Pac-10 Player of the Year, All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Defensive Team Honorable Mentions, Pac-10 Tournament Outstanding Player, and All-Pac-10 Team, among others.
Ogwumike was so good that she ended her career at the Cardinals with the following records: scored points (2,491 – second place), percentage of field goals (58. 3 – third place), free throw attempts (718 – first place), rebounds (1st place – second place), and the number of field goals scored (58. 3 – third place). 226 – third place), free throws (555 – second place), free throws (191), records in one season for points scored (809), points per game (17.2 – fourth place), rebounds per game (8.5 – fourth place), attempt (230) and points per game (22.5).
Nneka Ogwumike WNBA Career
Nneka Ogwumike’s WNBA career began in 2012 after she was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks as number 1 in the 2012 WNBA Draft, becoming the second player of her high school (Cypress-Fairbanks High School) to be drafted into the WNBA as number 1. The first person was Lindsey Harding.
During her rookie season, she was named WNBA Rookie of the Month four out of five times and also received the WNBA Rookie of the Year 2012 award, and in 2014 she was named WNBA All-Star for the second time in her career. In the 2016 season, she was named AP WNBA Player of the Year after finishing third in the league. Her records also earned her the 2016 WNBA Award for Most Valuable Player. In the same year, she was named President of the WNBA Players Association.
In 2017, she signed a contract extension with the Sparks and was soon elected to the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game. At the end of the season, she led the Sparks to the points for the second year in a row, and the team was placed second for the second year in a row and made it to the finals for the second year in a row, defeating the Phoenix Mercury in a 3 player sweep. Unfortunately, the Sparks later lost in five games and were unable to win the championship.
USA Basketball & Club Career
Nneka was a member of the U18 women’s team from the USA that won the gold medal at the 2008 FIBA Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The following year she joined the U19 team that competed in the World Championship in Bangkok, Thailand.
She also joined the team that represented the country and won a gold medal at the World University Games. After a goal (13.2 ppg), a rebound (5.7 RPG), and a shot count of 65.3, she finished second for the team.
The sensational player was also involved with some clubs. In the intermediate season 2012-13, she played for the Polish CCC Polkowice and even won a championship with the team. Since 2014 she has played three off-season games for the Russian club Dynamo Kursk.
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Awards And Honours
Among her many awards and honors are the WNBA Most Valuable Player 2016 and the WNBA Rookie of the Year 2012, four times WNBA All-Star, three times All-WNBA Team, three times WNBA All-Defensive Team, ten times WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week, and many others.
Who Is Nneka Ogwumike Boyfriend?
The beautiful WNBA player has actually managed to keep her private life private, far away from the media. There is no information about who she has been dating or is currently dating, she is probably single.
Height, Body Measurements, And Other Facts
Basketball players are usually very tall and Nneka is no exception, she stands on 6″2 (1.88m) and weighs 78.9kg (174 Ibs).
She was born in Tomball, Texas and her full name is Nnemkadi Ogwumike.
She has three younger sisters – Chiney, Chisom, and Erinma. Chiney also played basketball at Stanford and currently plays for the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA.
Nneka Ogwumike signed an endorsement contract with Nike shortly after her drafting in 2012.
