Chuma Okeke

Last updated

Chuma Okeke
Chuma Okeke.jpg
Okeke with Auburn in 2019
No. 3–Orlando Magic
Position Power forward
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1998-08-18) August 18, 1998 (age 25)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight229 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school Westlake (Atlanta, Georgia)
College Auburn (2017–2019)
NBA draft 2019: 1st round, 16th overall pick
Selected by the Orlando Magic
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–present Orlando Magic
2023 →Lakeland Magic
Career highlights and awards
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at Basketball-Reference.com

Chukwuma Julian "Chuma" Okeke (born August 18, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Okeke played college basketball for the Auburn Tigers before being drafted 16th overall in the 2019 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic.

Contents

High school career

Okeke attended Westlake High School in Atlanta. As a junior, he won the Georgia Class 6A state championship, scoring 13 points in a 68–58 win over Pebblebrook High School. [1] Okeke was named Mr. Georgia Basketball after his senior season, after he averaged 24.4 points, 15 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. [2] He was a consensus four-star recruit and was ranked among the top 50 players in his class by some scouting services. [3]

College career

Okeke played with the Tigers of Auburn University. [4]

In his freshman season, Okeke averaged 7.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He grabbed 197 rebounds in the season, the most by an Auburn freshman since Jeff Moore in 1984–85. [3]

As a sophomore, Okeke averaged 12 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game while starting in all 38 games. [5] On March 29, 2019, in a Sweet 16 win over top-seeded North Carolina at the 2019 NCAA tournament, he tore his ACL and was injured for the rest of the tournament. Despite his absence, Auburn advanced to its first Final Four appearance in program history. [6]

Professional career

Orlando Magic (2020–present)

On June 20, 2019, Okeke was selected with the 16th overall pick by the Orlando Magic in the 2019 NBA draft. Okeke was considered to be a lottery pick in the draft, but after suffering an ACL injury in the 2019 NCAA tournament, he fell to the 16th selection by the Magic, and was referred to by ESPN analyst, Mike Schmitz as the "steal of the draft." [7]

During his rehab, Okeke signed a one-year G League contract with the Magic's affiliate in Lakeland with the intent of starting his rookie-scale contract in 2020. At the time, the Magic faced a salary cap crunch that prevented them from adding Okeke's rookie salary to their books. [8] He reported to Lakeland's training camp as a draft rights player on October 28, 2019. [9] However, Okeke never played a game with Lakeland.

On November 16, 2020, the Orlando Magic announced that they had signed Okeke. [10] In a preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks, Okeke recorded 9 points with 2 three-pointers. On March 26, 2021, he scored a career-high 22 points on 60 percent shooting from the field in a 105–112 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Okeke averaged over 12 points after the trade deadline before suffering a season-ending minor ankle injury against the Cleveland Cavaliers. On February 25, 2022, he scored a career-high 26 points in a 119–111 win over the Houston Rockets, surpassing his previous career-high mark set during the 2020–21 season.

Career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2020–21 Orlando 451925.2.417.348.7504.02.21.1.57.8
2021–22 Orlando 702025.0.376.318.8465.01.71.4.68.6
2022–23 Orlando 27819.2.352.302.7623.61.4.7.44.7
Career1424723.9.386.323.8024.41.81.2.57.6

College

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2017–18 Auburn 34021.6.458.391.6735.81.1.7.77.5
2018–19 Auburn 383829.1.496.387.7226.81.91.81.212.0
Career723825.5.481.389.7036.31.51.31.09.9

Personal life

Okeke's father Chuka Okeke is from Nigeria. [11]

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References

  1. ↑ Purdum, David (March 5, 2016). "Class AAAAAA boys: Westlake 68, Pebblebrook 58". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  2. ↑ Sinor, Wesley (March 24, 2017). "Auburn signee Chuma Okeke is Georgia's Mr. Basketball". AL.com. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Chuma Okeke". Auburn University Athletics. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  4. ↑ Ostendorf, Greg (February 7, 2018). "Getting to know Chuma Okeke". Auburn University Athletics. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Chuma Okeke Player Profile". RealGM . Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  6. ↑ Teicher, Adam (March 31, 2019). "How Auburn survived without (and because of) Chuma Okeke". ESPN . Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  7. ↑ Rossman-Reich, Philip (June 22, 2019). "While Orlando Magic fans complained, experts loved Chuma Okeke". Orlando Magic Daily. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  8. ↑ Charania, Shams and Robbins, Josh (September 24, 2019). "Magic first-round pick Chuma Okeke will sign his NBA rookie scale contract during the 2020 offseason". The Athletic. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  9. ↑ "2019 NBA G League Training Camp Rosters". NBA G League. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  10. ↑ Savage, Dan (November 16, 2020). "Orlando Magic Sign Rookie Chuma Okeke". NBA.com. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Chuma Okeke". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on May 16, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
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