Chiney Ogwumike

Early life

Born in Tomball, Texas, Ogwumike attended Cypress Fairbanks High School in nearby Cypress, Texas, winning the 5A State Championship in her sophomore and senior seasons. Ogwumike was named a WBCA and McDonald's All-American. She participated in the 2010 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored 24 points, and earned MVP honors for the White team.

College career

Ogwumike chose Stanford over Connecticut and Notre Dame, joining her sister Nneka Ogwumike.

Ogwumike ended her Stanford career in 2014 as the all-time career scoring leader for either sex in Pac-12 Conference history, a record that fell in 2016 to Kelsey Plum of Washington.

Professional career

Ogwumike was drafted first overall in the 2014 WNBA draft by the Connecticut Sun. In her rookie season, Ogwumike became a starter, averaging a career-high 15.5 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. She was named a WNBA All-Star along with her sister Nneka Ogwumike, becoming the first pair of sisters to be selected into a WNBA All-Star game. Ogwumike would also win the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2014.

After the WNBA season ended, Ogwumike signed with Italian club Famila Schio. In seven games for Famila Schio, she averaged 25.3 points and 13.1 rebounds per game, but then suffered a knee injury that required microfracture surgery and resulted in her missing the entire 2015 WNBA season.

Ogwumike came back healthy for the 2016 season, playing 33 games with 18 starts while averaging 12.6 points per game. She had scored a career-high 26 points along with 15 rebounds in a regular season game win against the Dallas Wings. During the 2016 WNBA season, Ogwumike had signed with Henan Phoenix of the WCBA for the 2016–17 Chinese season. In her fifth game with the team, Ogwumike scored 56 points (on 23 of 24 field goal shooting) along with 12 rebounds She would end up winning first round MVP, averaging 33.6 points per game and 12.4 rebounds per game, prior to her achilles injury. In December 2016, it was announced that Ogwumike had undergone surgery after injuring her achilles. She was ruled out with an estimated recovery period of 6–9 months, which caused her to miss the 2017 WNBA season.

In April 2017, Ogwumike was suspended by the Sun for the entire 2017 season to free up a roster spot due to her injury and that same month she also signed a contract extension.

On May 20, 2018, Ogwumike made her return to the Sun in their season debut, playing her first WNBA game in two years. In 17 minutes of play, she scored 9 points in the starting lineup in a 101–65 victory over the Las Vegas Aces. On June 30, 2018, Ogwumike scored a new career-high of 30 points in a 103–92 loss to the Seattle Storm. Later on in the 2018 season, it was announced that Ogwumike was voted into the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her second all-star appearance. The Sun finished as the number 4 seed in the league with a 21–13 record, receiving a bye to the second round elimination game. The Sun would lose 96–86 to the Phoenix Mercury.

On April 28, 2019, Ogwumike was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks for a 2020 first-round pick, reuniting her with her sister Nneka. The Sparks finished as the number 3 seed with a 22–12 record, receiving a bye to the second round. In the second round elimination game, the Sparks defeated the defending champion Seattle Storm 92–69. In the semi-finals, the Sparks were eliminated by her former team, the Connecticut Sun in a three-game sweep.

In June 2020, Ogwumike announced she would sit out the 2020 WNBA season due to health concerns of playing in the bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without Ogwumike, the Sparks finished the season 15–7 as the number 3 seed with a bye to the second round but would get eliminated by the Connecticut Sun in the elimination game.

In February 2021, Ogwumike re-signed with the Sparks to a multi-year deal.

Ogwumike has not made an official retirement announcement to date, but she has not played since the 2023 WNBA season. Instead she has focused on her career as a sports broadcaster for ESPN.

National team career

Ogwumike was named to the USA Basketball U18 team. The USA team was one of eight teams from North, South and Central America, along with the Caribbean, invited to participate in the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship For Women, held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team was coached by Jennifer Rizzotti. Ogwumike started all five games and was the leading scorer with 13.2 points per game. She was also the leading rebounder with 7.4 rebounds per game. The USA team won all five games and captured the gold medal.

The usual sequence is for the players on the U18 team to move to the U19 team. However. Ogwumike played so well as a U18 that she was promoted to the World University Games team for the 2011 World University Games held in Shenzhen, China. Chiney was not the only Ogwumike on the team, as her sister, Nneka Ogwumike, was also on the team. Both started every game, with Chiney scoring almost ten points per game. She hit 25 of 37 shot attempts for a team leading 67.6% shooting percentage. She helped the USA win all six games and earn the gold medal.

ESPN career

In May 2018, Ogwumike signed a multi-year contract with ESPN to become a full-time basketball analyst. In August 2020, she became the first Black woman to host a national radio show for ESPN, while also becoming the first WNBA player to do so as well. She is one of the youngest commentators to be named a full-time NBA analyst for ESPN, while simultaneously playing in the WNBA. Ogwumike was partnered with Mike Golic Jr., as the co-host of the ESPN radio show Chiney & Golic Jr.. After the re-organization of ESPN's NBA coverage, she joined the daily series NBA Today as a rotating in-studio analyst.

Career statistics

College

WNBA

Regular season

|- | 31 || 31 || 29.7 || .536 || — || .693 || 7.5 || 0.6 || 1.2 || 1.2 || 1.9 || 15.5 |- | 33 || 18 || 24.3 ||.587 || — || .719 || 6.7 || 0.7 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 1.5 || 12.6 |- | 31 || 31 || 25.5 ||.603 || .500 || .797 || 7.3 || 1.0 || 1.1 || 0.6 || 1.6 || 14.4 |- | 32 || 14 || 21.8 || .494 || .250 || .809 || 5.8 || 0.8 || 1.0 || 0.7 || 1.3 || 9.6 |- | 7 || 3 || 19.1 || .408 || .750 || .750 || 4.1 || 1.3 || 0.9 || 0.4 || 0.9 || 7.0 |- | 26 || 7 || 18.4 || .466 || .444 || .706 || 5.5 || 1.1 || 0.8 || 0.3 || 1.4 || 7.0 |- | 10 || 4 || 21.2 || .430 || .077 || .714 || 4.3 || 1.3 || 1.3 || 0.3 || 1.2 || 8.4 |- | 170 || 108 || 23.7 || .535 || .341 || .741 || 6.5 || 0.9 || 1.0 || 0.7 || 1.5 || 11.6

Playoffs

|- | 1 || 0 || 19.1 || .200 || .000 || .000 || 3.0 || 1.0 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 2.0 |- | 4 || 0 || 16.6 || .500 || .000 || .857 || 3.3 || 0.8 || 0.8 || 0.5 || 0.8 || 6.0 |- | 5 || 0 || 17.1 || .435 || .000 || .857 || 3.2 || 0.8 || 1.0 || 0.4 || 0.6 || 5.2

Awards

• 2010—WBCA High School Coaches' All-America Team
• 2011—All-Pacific-10 Conference Team
• 2011—All-Pac-10 All-Defensive Team
• 2011—All-Pac-10 Tournament Team
• 2011—Pac-10 Freshman of the Year
• 2013—Pac-12 Player of the Year
• 2013—Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year
• 2014—ESPNW First Team All-American
• 2014—USBWA All-American team
• 2014—John R. Wooden Award
• 2014—Pac-12 Player of the Year
• 2014—Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year
• 2014—WNBA Rookie of the Year

Off the court

Personal life

Ogwumike is Catholic. Ogwumike's older sister, Nneka Ogwumike, plays for the Seattle Storm.

In November 2023, Ogwumike married Nigerian boxer, Raphael Akpejiori.

In popular culture

In December 2020, Ogwumike was named to Forbes 30 Under 30, alongside fellow WNBA players, Natasha Cloud and A'ja Wilson.

Advocacy

In 2014, Ogwumike and her sister, Nneka Ogwumike, held a fundraiser to support UNICEF programs that promote education and empowerment for girls in Nigeria following the mass kidnapping of schoolgirls by Boko Haram earlier that year.

In October 2023, Ogwumike became an inaugural member of the President's Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement in the United States.

References

References

1. "Chiney Ogwumike - I'm actually 6'2... so thank you Smash...".
2. [http://blog.sfgate.com/stanfordsports/2014/01/03/fourth-ranked-cardinal-set-for-a-wild-one/ Ogwumike sets rebound mark, dominates Oregon in Cardinal win]
3. [http://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/17828322/wnba-players-turn-nneka-ogwumike-players-union-president MVP Nneka Ogwumike elected WNBA players' union president]
4. [https://www.essence.com/news/exclusive-wnba-star-chiney-ogwumike-multi-year-agreement-espn EXCLUSIVE: WNBA Star Chiney Ogwumike Signs Multi-Year Agreement With ESPN To Become Regular Analyst]
5. "Chiney Ogwumike - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA".
6. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101001085859/http://www.usabasketball.com/bios/ogwumike_chiney.html USA Basketball profile]
7. (November 12, 2009). "espn.go.com: Chiney Ogwumike opts for Stanford". ESPN.
8. Allen, Percy. (December 11, 2016). "Kelsey Plum becomes Pac-12 all-time leading scorer, scores 44 to lift UW past Boise State". [[The Seattle Times]].
9. [https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2014/07/15/ogwumike-sisters-headline-wnba-all-star-reserves/12711179/ Ogwumike sisters headline WNBA All-Star reserves]
10. (22 January 2015). "Chiney Ogwumike has microfracture surgery on knee". [[USA Today]].
11. [http://www.courant.com/sports/basketball/hc-wnba-roundup-0721-20160720-story.html Chiney Ogwumike Scores Career-High 26 To Lead Sun Past Wings]
12. "Chinese WCBA round 5 best performance: Chiney Ogwumike".
13. "Chinese League Round 5 October 25th".
14. [http://www.wnba.com/news/wnba-players-making-mark-overseas/ WNBA Players Making Their Mark Overseas]
15. [http://www.courant.com/sports/basketball/connecticut-sun/hc-connecticut-sun-chiney-1202-20161201-story.html Sun's Chiney Ogwumike Could Miss Entire Season]
16. [http://www.norwichbulletin.com/sports/20161201/connecticut-sun-forward-chiney-ogwumike-could-miss-2017-season-following-achilles-surgery Connecticut Sun forward Chiney Ogwumike could miss 2017 season following Achilles surgery]
17. [http://www.wnba.com/news/chiney-ogwumike-undergoes-achilles-surgery/ Chiney Ogwumike Undergoes Achilles Surgery]
18. [http://www.norwichbulletin.com/sports/20170422/sun-offer-chiney-ogwumike-contract-extension-suspend-her-for-season Sun offer Chiney Ogwumike contract extension, suspend her for season]
19. [https://www.swishappeal.com/wnba/2018/5/20/17370988/2018-wnba-preview-connecticut-sun-las-vegas-aces-jonquel-jones-aja-wilson-chiney-ogwumike Preview: Connecticut Sun hosts Las Vegas Aces in the teams’ season opener]
20. [Preview: Connecticut Sun hosts Las Vegas Aces in the teams’ season opener Mohegan Sun Arena Sunday, May 20, 2018]
21. [https://www.heraldnet.com/sports/howards-career-high-25-points-lift-storm-past-sun/ Howard’s career-high 25 points lift Storm past Sun]
22. [http://www.wnba.com/news/chiney-ogwumikes-road-to-all-star-return/ Chiney Ogwumike’s Road To All-Star Return]
23. [https://www.slamonline.com/wnba/sparks-trade-for-chiney-ogwumike/ Sparks Trade For Chiney Ogwumike]
24. [https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2897903-sparks-chiney-ogwumike-kristi-toliver-opt-to-sit-out-2020-wnba-season Sparks' Chiney Ogwumike, Kristi Toliver Opt to Sit Out 2020 WNBA Season]
25. [https://www.thescore.com/wnba/news/2121873 Sparks re-sign Chiney Ogwumike to multi-year deal]
26. Roberson, Matthew. (2024-05-09). "How Chiney Ogwumike Went From All-Star Basketball Player to All-Star Broadcaster".
27. "Chiney & Golic Jr. Show - PodCenter".
28. "NCAA® Career Statistics".
29. Nelson, Glenn. (2009-11-12). "HoopGurlz: Ogwumike to join sister at Stanford".
30. "Facebook post".
31. "WNBA Star Chiney Ogwumike and Boxer Raphael Akpejiori Marry in Epic Four-Day Wedding Celebration".
32. Ariail, Cat. (December 2, 2020). "Natasha Cloud, Chiney Ogwumike and A'ja Wilson named to the 'Forbes 30 Under 30 List'".
33. (2014-06-11). "Ogwumike sisters raise funds for Nigeria education".
34. (2023-09-26). "WNBA player Chiney Ogwumike named to President Biden's council on African diplomacy".
35. "Past WBCA HS Coaches' All-America Teams". Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
36. "WBCA High School All-America Game Box Scores". Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
37. "WBCA High School All-America Game Team MVP's". Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
38. "EIGHTH WOMEN'S FIBA AMERICAS U18 CHAMPIONSHIP FOR WOMEN – 2010". USA Basketball.
39. (June 28, 2010). "Incoming Stanford freshman Ogwumike leads USA U18 hoop team to gold". Palo Alto Online Sports.
40. "TWENTY-SIXTH WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES – 2011". USA Basketball.
41. "Slideshow: espnW All-Americans". ESPN.
42. (March 31, 2014). "USBWA ANNOUNCES 2013–14". U.S. Basketball Writers Association.