Nneka Ogwumike Height, Age, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Nneka OgwumikeNneka Ogwumike

• When she was a child, she liked gymnastics, and basketball was not her first choice. An instructor told her parents that she was growing too tall for gymnastics.
  

  A childhood picture of Nneka Ogwumike

• During her school days, Ogwumike was named a WBCA All-American.

• In 2008, she played in the WBCA High School All-America Game. She scored 17 points and scored 6 rebounds. She also won the MVP award for the White team.

• During the 2007-2008 season at Cy-Fair High School, she averaged 16.8 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game, 1.8 assists per game, 2.4 steals per game, and 0.8 blocks per game.

• Ogwumike chose Stanford University over Baylor, Duke, Connecticut, Tennessee and Notre Dame.
  

  Nneka Ogwumike after winning a championship during her days at Stanford University

• In July 2008, she competed for the USA Women’s Under-18 team at the FIBA Americas Championship, which was organised in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

• During these championships, Team USA defeated host nation Argentina in the final.

• After that, Team USA finished with a 5-0 record and won gold.

• Ogwumike started all five games and led all scorers with an average of 12.6 points per game. She also became the top rebounder with 8 rebounds per game.

• In the final against Argentina, she scored 20 points and 15 rebounds, which was an Under-18 record.

• Ogwumike led the team in scoring and rebounding and was named the MVP of the tournament in Argentina.

• After that, Ogwumike joined the USA Women’s Under-19 team.

• In 2009, she represented the United States at the U19 World Championship, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand, in July and August.

• During these championships, Team USA lost its opening game to Spain. After that, it won its next seven games. The USA then faced Spain again in the final and won the final match by 81-71 and earned a gold medal.

• All of these nine games were started by Ogwumike, who became the leading scorer of the team with 13.6 points per game.

• She was also the top rebounder with almost 10 rebounds per game. After that, she was named to the All-Tournament Team.
  

  An old picture of Nneka Ogwumike while playing for the United States

• On 23 January 2010, Stanford defeated Oregon by 100-80. She then set a Stanford Cardinal record with 23 rebounds in one game.

• In 2011, Ogwumike represented the United States at the World University Games in Shenzhen, China. During these championships, her sister, Chiney Ogwumike, also played on the team. Bill Fennelly was the coach of the team.

• The Team USA won all six games and earned the gold medal. Ogwumike scored average 13.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

• She was ranked second on the team in both categories, behind Elena Delle Donne.

• On 20 December 2011, she scored 42 points, made 19 of her 27 shots. She also scored 17 rebounds.

• Stanford defeated Tennessee Lady Vols by 97-80.

• On 7 January 2012, Ogwumike crossed 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.

• After that, she left Stanford as the second-highest scorer in the history of the women’s basketball program. Basketball player Candice Wiggins scored more points than her.

• On 16 April 2012, the Los Angeles Sparks team selected Ogwumike as the first overall pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft.

• After this, she became the second player from Cypress-Fairbanks High School to be selected first overall in the WNBA. Lindsey Harding was the first player from the school to do so in 2007.

• On 12 July 2012, Ogwumike recorded a career-high 20 rebounds and scored 22 points.

• The Sparks defeated WNBA champions, the Indiana Fever, by 77-74.

• On 13 September 2012, she scored a season-high 30 points. She made 10 of 15 shots and scored 11 rebounds. The Sparks defeated the Chicago Sky by 86-77.

• On 20 September 2012, Ogwumike scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the final regular-season game. Her teammate Candace Parker also recorded the same 22 points and 11 rebounds.

• The Los Angeles Sparks team then defeated the defending WNBA champions, the Minnesota Lynx, by 92-76.

• Ogwumike made 10 of her 13 field-goal attempts.
  

  Nneka Ogwumike while playing for the Los Angeles Sparks team

• During her rookie season, Ogwumike won the WNBA Rookie of the Month award four times out of five.

• On 7 October 2012, she was named the WNBA Rookie of the Year. She then became the fifth straight first overall draft pick to win the award.

• During the 2012-13 off-season, Ogwumike played in Poland for CCC Polkowice and won a championship with the team.

• During the 2013-14 off-season, she played in China for Guangdong Vermilion Birds.

• From the 2014 to 2018 off-seasons, Ogwumike played in Russia for Dynamo Kursk. She won the 2017 EuroLeague with the club. She returned to Guangdong in 2019.

• In 2014, Ogwumike scored average 15.8 points per game and was selected as a WNBA All-Star for the second time.

• Her sister, Chiney Ogwumike, was also selected as an All-Star.

• They then became the first pair of sisters selected for a WNBA All-Star Game.

• In 2014, Ogwumike competed at the FIBA World Championship for Women for team USA. Under her leadership, the Team USA defeated Spain by 77-64 points and won a gold medal.

• In 2016, Ogwumike re-signed contract with the Los Angeles Sparks after her rookie contract ended.

• She was then named the AP WNBA Player of the Year.

• At the end of the season, she finished third in the league by scoring 19.7 points per game. She also finished third in rebounding with 9.1 rebounds per game.

• She then finished first in field-goal percentage with 66.5%. After that, she received the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award.

• In 2016, Ogwumike set a WNBA record after she made 23 consecutive field goals over three games.

• She also set a WNBA single-game record for the most field-goal attempts without a miss.

• She scored 32 points after making all 12 of her 12 shots. The team Los Angeles Sparks then defeated the Dallas Wings by 97-73.

• On 30 June 2016, she scored a career-high 38 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. The Los Angeles Sparks defeated the Atlanta Dream, by 84-75.

• Ogwumike also recorded the highest true shooting percentage in basketball history during the season. She reached 73.7%.

• She then became the most efficient shooter in professional basketball history.

• The team Los Angeles Sparks, along with Candace Parker and Kristi Toliver, became the three strong championship contenders.

• The Sparks finished the season with a 26-8 record.

• That same year, a new WNBA playoff format was introduced. After the end of the league, the Sparks finished at number two.

• They received a double-bye to the WNBA semi-finals, where they faced the Chicago Sky in the semi-finals. The Sparks then won the series by 3-1.

• They then reached the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2003.

• In the WNBA Finals, two teams from the same conference met for only the second time in league history. This happened because of the new playoff format.

• The Sparks faced the defending champions, the Minnesota Lynx. The Sparks won the championship after a tough five-game series.

• It was the team’s first WNBA championship since 2002.

• Ogwumike then won the first WNBA championship of her career.

• During the game five of the series, she scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. She scored an offensive rebound and earned the game-winning basket.

• Her shot gave the Sparks a 77-76 lead with only 3 seconds left in the game.

• Ogwumike then became the seventh player in WNBA history to win the regular-season MVP award and a championship in the same season.

• In 2017, Ogwumike extended her contract with the Los Angeles Sparks.

• During the 2017 season, she was selected for the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game. It was her fourth All-Star appearance.

• On 18 August 2017, she scored a season-high 32 points and earned 10 rebounds. The Sparks defeated the Chicago Sky by 115-106 after two overtime periods.

• At the end of the season, Ogwumike led the Sparks in scoring for the second straight year. She scored average 18.8 points per game. The Sparks finished as the number 2 team for the second year in a row with the same record. They received a double-bye to the semi-finals.

• The Sparks reached the Finals for the second straight season after defeating the Phoenix Mercury team in three games. This set up a rematch with the Minnesota Lynx team. However, the Sparks lost the series in five games and failed to win back-to-back championships.

• In 2018, Ogwumike scored a season-high 25 points after her team defeated the Indiana Fever and scored 87-70.

• After that, she was selected for the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game. However, she missed the game because of fatigue. The fatigue kept her out for more than a week in mid-July.

• Ogwumike returned on 2 August 2018 and played against the Minnesota Lynx. She scored 15 points and her team won by 79-57. She finished the season with an average of 15.5 points per game.
  

  Nneka Ogwumike while playing basketball in 2018

• On 4 July 2019, Ogwumike scored a season-high 31 points and earned 10 rebounds while playing against the Washington Mystics. Her team won by 98–81. She was selected for the 2019 WNBA All-Star Game. It was her sixth All-Star appearance.

• In 2020, the season was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• On 12 September 2020, Ogwumike scored a season-high 24 points against the Las Vegas Aces. Her team lost by 84-70. She played 18 of the 22 games and missed four games because of a back injury.

• That same year, she left USA women’s team and tried to change her nationality to represent the team Nigeria’s D’Tigress.

• In January 2021, she signed a multi-year deal with the Sparks.
  

  Nneka Ogwumike (right) plays defense against Awak Kuier (left) during a 2021 WNBA game

• That same year, during the WNBA’s 25th season, she was named to The W25 as one of the top 25 players in league history.

• At the end of the season, she received the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award for the third straight year from WNBA.
  

  Nneka Ogwumike while playing for the Los Angeles Sparks in 2023

• On 5 February 2024, Ogwumike signed a one-year contract with the Seattle Storm.

• That same month, Ogwumike joined the WNBA Changemakers Collective and its work with VOICEINSPORT (VIS) as a mentor. The program aims to motivate girls to join sports and develop various leadership skills on and beyond the court.

• In August 2024, Ogwumike became the ambassador of the non-profit voting rights group, More Than a Vote, which was founded by LeBron James in 2020.

• Ogwumike motivated many female athletes to join More Than a Vote and also promised to shift its focus to women’s reproductive rights during the 2024 election cycle.

• On 8 February 2025, Ogwumike signed again with Seattle for a year.

• That same year, the New York Times and The Athletic named Ogwumike one of the 20 most admired leaders in sports in 2025.

• Professor Jennifer Lerner once praised Ogwumike for her,
  

  Sustained elite performance with low ego and low theatrics.”

  Lerner also praised her leadership skills and long-term thinking about institutions.

• On 17 October 2025, Ogwumike confirmed in a phone interview with a media outlet that she had lost her third appeal to play for Nigeria.

• In November 2025, Ogwumike became the first player who was linked to the Project B women’s professional basketball league.

• In 2026, Ogwumike signed with the Sparks for a year.

• On 19 August 2026, she announced that she would retire at the end of the 2026 WNBA season.

• She is the oldest of four sisters who have played basketball. Her sister Chiney played for the Los Angeles Sparks. Her sisters, Erica and Olivia, played for the Rice University Owls.

• Erica attended the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School after playing for Rice. She also works as a dermatologist.

• She has been featured on the cover of various magazines and tabloids.
  

  Nneka Ogwumike on the cover of a magazine

• She likes travelling to distant places, swimming, and running in her free time.
  

  Nneka Ogwumike during a trip