Playing basketball since the tender age of 8, the Atlanta Hawks’ Onyeka Okongwu was influenced and gravitated towards the game because of his older brother Nnamdi. He started off playing for a club program named Edge Basketball. He also worked separately with trainers and coaches to ensure his skills developed rapidly.

By age 11, he had moved to another club program called RC Rebels until it was time to attend high school. Now, we’ve established his roots in basketball, but you may be wondering about his heritage and familial roots. Well, let’s waste no time and delve into that!

Is Onyeka Okongwu Nigerian? What is the Hawks star’s nationality?

Onyeka was born in December 2000 to immigrant parents in LA, California. This makes Onyeka an American, even though he’s of Nigerian descent. He and his siblings were raised in Chino Hills, where his parents moved from Nigeria to secure a better living. 

Okongwu grew up idolizing his brother, Nnamdi, who played basketball for the Chino Hills High School, wearing #21, inspiring his younger brother to follow in his footsteps. Though tragically, Nnamdi suffered a brain injury while skateboarding and passed away at age 17. 

Okongwu would wear his brother’s number, 21, to honor him. In Jan 2020, The Chino Hills High School retired the number in honor of his brother. And once he arrived at the Atlanta Hawks, with #21 being retired, Onyeka chose #17, the age Nnamdi was when he passed away. 

Though we’d be hard-pressed to talk about Okongwu’s move to the Hawks without mentioning his stellar college career.

Which university did Onyeka Okongwu attend?

Among offers from UCLA and Arizona State, Okongwu committed to playing for the University of Southern California. He was coming off his high school stint as a 5-star recruit on ESPN & Rivals and a 4-star recruit on 247Sports. Upon his arrival, he was the best player, hands down for the Trojans. He put up a double-double in his collegiate debut, scoring 20 points with 13 rebounds and a record of 8 assists. He became the first in 13+ years to record a double-double in his debut for USC, the last one to do it being Taj Gibson.

Onyeka Okongwu then scored a career-high 33 points against Pepperdine, which earned him Freshman of the Week honors. He would have another stellar performance with 27 points and 14 rebounds, this time against Harvard at the Orlando Invitational. As expected, Okongwu kept up this level of performance through the winter. 

On January 2, he scored 27 points and 12 rebounds against Washington State. Then, he put up crazy numbers once again with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and six blocks, although this time in a losing effort in overtime against Oregon.

By the end of the season, Onyeka Okongwu was averaging 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game!

It was clear- USC had something special on their hands heading into the Pac-12 and NCAA tournament. However, in March, Okongwu declared himself for the 2020 NBA Draft, forgoing his college eligibility! That’s when the Atlanta Hawks drafted him in the first round, as the sixth pick overall. And that’s the story of how we NBA fans got acquainted with Onyeka Okongwu!