Nneka Ogwumike

Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike (born July 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), after being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2012 WNBA draft.

Soon after being drafted, Ogwumike signed an endorsement deal with Nike.

She is the older sister of Chiney Ogwumike, who also most recently played for the Sparks.

She averaged 16.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 2.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per game during the 2007–08 season at Cy-Fair High School.

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

She became the second player from Cypress-Fairbanks High School to be drafted No. 1 overall into the WNBA behind Lindsey Harding in 2007.

She participated in the 2008 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored 17 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and earned MVP honors for the White team.

She was a member of USA Under 18 Team that won gold in Argentina on July 23–27, 2008.

Nneka tallied 20 points and 15 rebounds in the championship game of the Under-18 FIBA Americas.

She led team USA to a 5–0 record while leading the team in scoring and rebounding.

She was named MVP of this tournament in Argentina.

Nneka had also played with her sister, Chiney Ogwumike in Stanford.

The event was held in July 2008, when the USA team defeated host Argentina to win the championship.

Ogwumike helped the team win all five games, starting all five games and leading all scorers with 12.6 points per game.

She was also the leading rebounder with 8 per game.

Ogwumike recorded 15 rebounds in the final game against Argentina, an U18 record.

Ogwumike continued on to the USA Women's U19 team which represented the US in the 2009 U19 World's Championship, held in Bangkok, Thailand in July and August 2009.

Although the USA team lost the opening game to Spain, they went on to win their next seven games to earn a rematch against Spain in the finals, and won the game 81–71 to earn the gold medal.

Ogwumike started all nine games and was the team's leading scorer, with 13.6 points per game.

She was the leading rebounder with almost ten per game, and was named to the all-tournament team.

In a 100-80 victory over Oregon on January 23, 2010, Ogwumike set a new Cardinal record for rebounds in a game with 23.

On December 20, 2011, Ogwumike scored a career-high 42 points on 19 for 27 shooting while also grabbing 17 rebounds in a 97–80 win over the sixth-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols.

Ogwumike played on the team presenting the US at the 2011 World University Games held in Shenzhen, China, along with her sister, Chiney Ogwumike.

The team, coached by Bill Fennelly, won all six games to earn the gold medal.

Ogwumike averaged 13.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, both second place on the team behind Elena Delle Donne.

On January 7, 2012, Ogwumike surpassed both the 2,000 point and the 1,000 rebound thresholds for her career with a 33-point, 16 rebound performance against Oregon State.

Ogwumike left the Stanford Cardinal as the second all-time leading scorer for the women's basketball program, behind only Candice Wiggins.

Ogwumike was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

On April 16, 2012, the Los Angeles Sparks picked Ogwumike first overall in the 2012 WNBA draft.

On July 12, 2012, Ogwumike set a career-high in rebounds with 20 to go along with 22 points in a 77–74 win over the eventual WNBA champion Indiana Fever.

On September 13, 2012, she scored a season high 30 points on 10 of 15 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds in an 86–77 win over the Chicago Sky.

In the regular season finale on September 20, 2012, Ogwumike matched her teammate Candace Parker for team highs in both points and rebounds with each player earning 22 and 11, respectively, in a 92–76 win over the defending WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx.

Ogwumike was 10 for 13 from the field.

Ogwumike was named WNBA Rookie of the Month four out of five times in her rookie season.

On October 7, 2012, Ogwumike was awarded as the 2012 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

Ogwumike had also played for Team USA at the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women, helping Team USA beat Spain 77–64 in the gold medal game.

Ogwumike was named WNBA MVP for the 2016 WNBA season and won the WNBA Finals the same year She was named to The W25 the league's list of the top 25 players of its first 25 years, in 2021.

She has also played for Dynamo Kursk of Russia Her name "Nneka" means "Mother is Supreme" in the Igbo language of Nigeria - where her family hails from.

She is 6'2" and plays power forward. She attended Cy-Fair High School in Cypress, Texas and led them to a 5A State Championship in her senior season. While at Stanford University she helped the Cardinal reach the Final Four four times. Ogwumike was elected President of the WNBA Players Association in 2016 and was re-elected to a new three-year term in 2019.

Ogwumike was named a WBCA All-American.