Olivier Nkamhoua

Olivier Nkamhoua

Nkamhoua with Niners Chemnitz in 2024
Pallacanestro Varese
Position	Power forward, Center
League	LBA
Personal information
Born	(2000-05-02) 2 May 2000 (age 25) Helsinki, Finland
Listed height	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)
Listed weight	101 kg (223 lb)
Career information
High school	Helsinki Basketball Academy (Helsinki, Finland) Richard Montgomery, (Rockville, Maryland) Bishop Walsh School, (Cumberland, Maryland)
College	Tennessee (2019–2023) Michigan (2023–2024)
Playing career	2016–present
Career history
2016–2017	NMKY Helsinki
2024–2025	Niners Chemnitz
2025–present	Varese

Olivier Robinson Nkamhoua (born 2 May 2000) is a Finnish professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Varese of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers and Michigan Wolverines. ^[1] Nkamhoua is also part of the Finland national team. He began playing basketball with NMKY Helsinki. ^[2]

Early life

Nkamhoua was born in Helsinki to Finnish mother and Cameroonian-born father, Christian Nkamhoua, who played basketball in Finland until 2006. ^[3] Nkamhoua is also of Scottish descent on his mother's side. He was raised in Kumpula and Käpylä neighbourhoods in Helsinki. When aged 17, Nkamhoua joined Helsinki Basketball Academy but was not named in the HBA-Märsky team's squad. Later he moved to the United States with his father to play basketball in high school. Before his departure, he had debuted at senior level with NMKY Helsinki in the Finnish second tier in the 2016–17 season. ^[4]

High school career

In the United States, he played and studied in Richard Montgomery High School and Bishop Walsh School in Maryland. While playing for Bishop Walsh Spartans, Nkamhoua was named the Player of the Year in 2019, and attended the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament (ACIT) with the Spartans. Nkamhoua was named in the All-ACIT First Team and was the Appalachian Mountain Athletic Conference selection. ^[5]

College career

Tennessee

Nkamhoua began his college basketball career at Tennessee in 2019, where he appeared in 112 games, with 58 starts, and averaged 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds. During the 2021–22 season, he averaged 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds as a junior before suffering a season-ending left ankle injury at South Carolina in February 2022.

On 19 March 2023, in a March Madness game against Duke, Nkamhoua recorded 27 points on 77% shooting on the field and grabbed five rebounds, helping Tennessee to get a 65–52 win. ^[6] During the 2022–23 season, he averaged 10.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in his senior year. On 30 March 2023, Nkamhoua entered the NCAA transfer portal. ^[7] In May 2023, Nkamhoua was named in the roster of NBA G League Elite Camp, a camp for future draft prospects. ^[8]

Michigan

On 7 June 2023, Nkamhoua announced he would transfer to Michigan. ^[9] On 21 February 2024, Michigan head coach Juwan Howard announced that Nkamhoua would miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his left wrist. ^[10] During the 2023–24 season, he started 26 games for Michigan, averaging career bests in points (14.8), rebounds (7.1) and assists (2.7). He also set single-season bests for three-point field goals (27), rebounds (185) and minutes played (33.4). Throughout his collegiate career, Nkamhoua played in 138 games with 84 consecutive starts. He scored 1,117 points, grabbed 612 rebounds while adding 183 assists with 89 blocks and 52 steals. ^[11]

Professional career

Niners Chemnitz

On 3 July 2024, Nkamhoua started his professional career after signing with Niners Chemnitz of the Basketball Bundesliga and the FIBA Champions League. ^{[12] [13]}

Two days after the signing, Nkamhoua was named in the roster of the Portland Trail Blazers for the 2024 NBA Summer League. ^{[14] [15]} He played in two games, averaging 6.5 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks in 14 minutes playing time. ^[16]

After the Summer League, Nkamhoua returned to Chemnitz. On 2 October, in a Champions League game against Derthona, Nkahmoua recorded his career best 19 points and six rebounds for Chemnitz. On 20 October, he recorded his new career-high 21 points in an 81–78 win against ALBA Berlin in Bundesliga.

Pallacanestro Varese

On 28 June 2025, Nkamhoua joined Pallacanestro Varese in Italian LBA, ^[17] becoming the third Finnish player in Varese, after Teemu Rannikko and Antero Lehto. ^[18]

On 10 July, Nkamhoua was announced on the Portland Trail Blazers roster for the 2025 NBA Summer League. ^[19]

International career

Nkamhoua has played 20 games for Finland's U16 youth national team. ^[20]

Nkamhoua has been part of Finland senior national team since 2021. He was forced to miss the EuroBasket 2022 due to his commitment to Tennessee, ^{[21] [22]} but next year he represented Finland at the 2023 FIBA World Cup in his first major international tournament. ^{[23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28]} He also played in the 2024 FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament, ^[29] averaging 9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in three games against Bahamas, Poland and Spain, where Finland reached the semi-finals.

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games 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

FIBA Champions League

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2024–25	Niners Chemnitz	8	8	23.6	.623	.476	.632	4.8	1.4	.9	1.4	14.8

Domestic leagues

Year	Team	League	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2016–17	NMKY Helsinki	I-divisioona	9	10.6	.478	.000	.500	2.6	.3	.2	.1	2.8
2024–25	Niners Chemnitz	BBL	32	21.0	.460	.337	.731	5.0	1.0	.7	.9	10.4

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2019–20	Tennessee	30	0	11.4	.557	.200	.613	3.0	.3	.1	.5	3.3
2020–21	Tennessee	24	0	7.1	.565	–	.444	1.3	.2	.3	.3	2.3
2021–22	Tennessee	22	22	21.5	.497	.448	.722	5.6	1.2	.5	1.1	8.6
2022–23	Tennessee	36	36	25.3	.513	.333	.699	5.0	2.0	.4	.6	10.8
2023–24	Michigan	26	26	33.5	.512	.333	.671	7.1	2.7	.6	.6	14.8
Career		138	84	19.4	.523	.368	.681	4.3	1.2	.4	.6	8.0

National team

Team	Tournament	Pos.	GP	PPG	RPG	APG
Finland	2023 FIBA World Cup	21st	5	8.0	3.8	2.0

References

1. "Olivier Nkamhoua". Sports Reference-CBB.
2. Michigan nappasi ensimmäisen Big Ten -voittonsa – Nkamhoua repi tupla-tuplan, basket.fi, 11 December 2023
3. C.Nkamhoua, basket.fi
4. Olivier Nkamhoua – stadilainen rämäpää Tennesseen huippuyliopistossa, basket.fi, 25 February 2020
5. Bishop Walsh grad Nkamhoua on Trail Blazers Summer League team, sports.yahoo.com, 17 July 2024
6. Suomalaislupauksen superottelu varasti otsikot Yhdysvalloissa – maineikas kestomenestyjä lähti lauluun: "Tällaisia me olemme", mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 19 March 2023
7. Wilson, Mike (30 March 2023). "Tennessee basketball's Olivier Nkamhoua enters transfer portal". Knoxville News Sentinel . Retrieved 23 February 2024.
8. "NBA G League Announces Field Of 44 Draft Prospects For 2023 NBA G League Elite Camp In Chicago". The NBA G League. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
9. Wilson, Mike (7 June 2023). "Olivier Nkamhoua transfers to Michigan from Tennessee basketball". Knoxville News Sentinel . Retrieved 23 February 2024.
10. Rannevamma päätti Susijengin Olivier Nkamhouan yliopistouran Yhdysvalloissa – valmentaja hehkuttaa: ”Todellinen soturi”, Yle, 22 February 2024
11. Wywrot, Tom (21 February 2024). "Nkamhoua to Miss Remainder of Season Following Wrist Surgery". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive . Retrieved 21 February 2024.
12. Olivier Nkamhoua Saksan Bundesliigan kärkijoukkue Chemnitziin, basket.fi, 3 July 2024
13. ERSTER FINNE IM NINERS-JERSEY, chemnitz99.de, 3 July 2024
14. TRAIL BLAZERS ANNOUNCE NBA 2K25 SUMMER LEAGUE 2024 ROSTER, nba.com, 5 July 2024
15. Susijengin Olivier Nkamhoua mukaan NBA:n kesäliigaan, Helsingin Sanomat, 11 July 2024
16. 2024 Summer League player stats, nba.com
17. OLIVIER NKAMHOUA È UN NUOVO GIOCATORE DELLA PALLACANESTRO VARESE, pallacanestrovarese.it, 28 June 2025
18. Olivier Nkamhouan uusi seura löytyy Italian pääsarjasta, Yle, 28 June 2025
19. Tayor, Cody (10 July 2024). "2025 NBA Summer League: Tracking where prospects will play". USA Today . Retrieved 16 July 2025.
20. O.Nkamhoua, basket.fi
21. Olivier Nkamhouan, 23, ehdotus järkytti isää ja äitiä – Valmistujaiset olivat mennä pilalle: ”Isä teki siinä kohtaa oikein”, Iltalehti, 2 August 2023
22. Suomalaislupaus Olivier Nkamhoua laukoo itsevarmoja kommentteja NBA:sta – teki kesällä yllättävän ratkaisun, Yle, 3 August 2023
23. Susijengin veijari avaa Yhdysvalloissa auennutta miljoonabisnestä – Olivier Nkamhoua on merkittävä poikkeus voidessaan tienata rahaa, Ilta-Sanomat, 2 September 2023
24. Olivier Nkamhoua avaa Yhdysvalloissa auennutta miljoonabisnestä: ”Kaikki haluavat tienata hieman – eikö se ole ihan normaalia?, Helsingin Sanomat
25. MM-pelaaja joutui hämmentävään tilanteeseen palattuaan USA:sta Suomeen – soitto Puolustusvoimiin toi ikävän yllätyksen, Ilta-Sanomat, 14 August 2023
26. Olivier Nkamhoua tuo poikkeuksellista fyysisyyttä koripallomaajoukkueen puolustukseen, Salon Seudun Sanomat, 7 August 2023
27. Susijengi-tähdeltä painava avautuminen MM-sukelluksesta – löi omilleen tiukan vaatimuslistan: "Voin ihan rehellisesti sanoa", mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 29 August 2023
28. Olivier Nkamhoua: ”Viimeinkin pääsee keskittymään täysillä koripalloon”, basket.fi, 2 July 2024
29. Susijengin pelaajatusina olympiakarsintoihin on vahvistettu, basket.fi, 30 June 2024

External links

• Olivier Nkamhoua at FIBA
• Michigan Wolverines bio
• Tennessee Volunteers bio