Chuma Okeke

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Chuma Okeke
File: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 26)
Atlanta, Georgia
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight 230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school Westlake (Atlanta, Georgia)
College Auburn (2017–2019)
NBA draft 2019 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16th overall
Selected by the Orlando Magic
Playing career 2020–present
Career history
2020–present Orlando Magic
Career highlights and awards

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.

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, Okeke scored a career-high 22 points on 60 percent shooting from the field in a 105-112 loss over 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.

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

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Orlando 45 19 25.2 .417 .348 .750 4.0 2.2 1.1 .5 7.8
2021–22 Orlando 70 20 25.0 .376 .318 .846 5.0 1.7 1.4 .6 8.6
Career 115 39 25.1 .390 .326 .810 4.6 1.9 1.3 .6 8.3

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Auburn 34 0 21.6 .458 .391 .673 5.8 1.1 .7 .7 7.5
2018–19 Auburn 38 38 29.1 .496 .387 .722 6.8 1.9 1.8 1.2 12.0
Career 72 38 25.5 .481 .389 .703 6.3 1.5 1.3 1.0 9.9

Personal life

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

References

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External links

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