Chinanu Onuaku

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Chinanu Onuaku
Chinanu Onuaku.jpg
No. 32 – Bnei Herzliya
PositionPower forward / Center
LeagueIsraeli Basketball Premier League
Personal information
Born (1996-11-01) November 1, 1996 (age 25)
Lanham, Maryland
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High schoolRiverdale Baptist
(Upper Marlboro, Maryland)
CollegeLouisville (2014–2016)
NBA draft2016 / Round: 2 / Pick: 37th overall
Selected by the Houston Rockets
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2018Houston Rockets
2016–2018→Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2018–2019Greensboro Swarm
2019–2020Wonju DB Promy
2020–2021Zadar
2021–presentBnei Herzliya
Career highlights and awards
  • Croatian League champion (2021)
  • All-Croatian League First Team (2021)
  • All-Croatian League All-Defensive Team (2021)
  • Croatian Cup winner (2021)
  • Croatian Cup MVP (2021)
  • All-Korean League First Team (2020)
  • Korean League All-Imports Team (2020)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the  United States
FIBA U19 World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2015 Greece Team

Chinanu Michael Onuaku (born November 1, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals.

High school career[]

Onuaku attended Riverdale Baptist School where he averaged 12.4 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 5.5 blocks as a senior, leading Riverdale to a 30–9 record and the Capital Beltway conference title.[1]

When Onuaku graduated, he was considered the 74th best prospect by Rivals.com,[2] 75th by ESPN[3] and was rated as the seventh-best center in the nation by Scout.com.[4]

College career[]

Onuaku played two seasons of college basketball for the University of Louisville between 2014 and 2016. In his sophomore season, he averaged 9.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks,[5] earning All-ACC Defensive Team and All-ACC honorable mention honors and posting 11 double-doubles.[6]

In May 2016, Onuaku announced he would enter the NBA draft.[6]

Professional career[]

Houston Rockets (2016–2018)[]

On June 23, 2016, Onuaku was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 37th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft[7] and later joined them for the 2016 NBA Summer League.[8] On July 20, 2016, he signed with the Rockets.[5] He made his NBA debut on December 26, 2016, coming on in the fourth quarter and recording six points and three rebounds in a 131–115 win over the Phoenix Suns. He hit a pair of free throws in the game with his underhanded free-throw action.[9] During his rookie season, Onuaku had multiple assignments with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets' D-League affiliate.[10] On May 1, 2017, he was suspended two games without pay for pushing a game official. The incident occurred during an altercation in the final seconds of the Vipers' 122–96 loss to Raptors 905 in Game 3 of the 2017 NBA D-League Finals on April 27.[11]

On August 2, 2018, Onuaku was traded from the Rockets to the Dallas Mavericks for the rights to forward Maarty Leunen.[12] He was waived four days later.[13]

On September 4, 2018, Onuaku signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.[14] On October 13, 2018, he was waived by the Trail Blazers.[15]

Greensboro Swarm (2018–2019)[]

On October 20, 2018, Onuaku was selected with the second overall pick in the 2018 NBA G League draft by the Greensboro Swarm.[16]

Wonju DB Promy (2019–2020)[]

Onuaku spent the 2019-20 season in South Korea with Wonju DB Promy. He averaged 14.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.[17]

Zadar (2020–2021)[]

On October 14, 2020, Onuaku signed with Zadar in the Croatian League.[17]

Bnei Herzliya (2021–present)[]

On July 21, 2021, he has signed with Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[18]

NBA 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
2016–17 Houston 5 1 10.4 .714 - 1.000 2.0 .6 .6 .2 2.8
2017–18 Houston 1 0 22.0 .400 - - 4.0 1.0 .0 .0 4.0
Career 6 1 12.3 .583 - 1.000 2.3 .7 .5 .2 3.0

Playoffs[]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018 Houston 1 0 3.0 - - - 1.0 1.0 1.0 .0 .0
Career 1 0 3.0 - - - 1.0 1.0 1.0 .0 .0

Personal life[]

Onuaku is the son of Nwaneka and Christopher Onuaku, and has three older siblings: Ify, Arinze and Chuk. Onuaku's brother, Arinze, is also a professional basketball player.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Chinanu Onuaku - 2015-16 Men's Basketball". GoCards.com. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  2. ^ "Chinanu Onuaku - Rivals.com". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  3. ^ "Chinanu Onuaku Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  4. ^ "Chinanu Onuaku - Scout.com". Scout.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Rockets Sign Rookie Chinanu Onuaku". NBA.com. July 20, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Greer, Jeff (July 20, 2016). "Final answer: Onuaku confirms NBA draft entry". Courier-Journal.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  7. ^ "Rockets Select Chinanu Onuaku and Zhou Qi in 2016 NBA Draft". NBA.com. June 24, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  8. ^ "Rockets to Compete in Samsung NBA Summer League 2016". NBA.com. July 1, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  9. ^ "Harden scores 32 points and Rockets cruise past Suns 131-115". ESPN.com. December 26, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  10. ^ "2016-17 NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  11. ^ "Rio Grande Valley Vipers' Onuaku Suspended". NBA.com. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  12. ^ "Mavericks get center Chinanu Onuaku in trade with Rockets".
  13. ^ "Mavs waive Chinanu Onuaku, acquired in trade with Rockets". ESPN.com. August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  14. ^ "TRAIL BLAZERS SIGN THREE PLAYERS". NBA.com. September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  15. ^ "Trail Blazers Waive Oliver, Onuaku, & Payton II". NBA.com. October 13, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  16. ^ "Salt Lake City Stars Select Willie Reed With No. 1 Overall Pick Of 2018 NBA G League Draft". NBA.com. October 20, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  17. ^ a b Zule, Zeljko (October 14, 2020). "Zadar inks Chinanu Onuaku". Eurobasket. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  18. ^ "Eurobasket". Eurobasket. July 21, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.

External links[]

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