Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike // (listen)(/ˈnɛkə oʊˈɡwuːmɪkeɪ/; born July 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks 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 plays for the Sparks. 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 also plays 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.
2014-2018 |