Chinanu Onuaku facts for kids
 |
||||||||||||||
| No. 23 – Bnei Herzliya | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power forward / Center | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
| Born | November 1, 1996 Lanham, Maryland, U.S. |
|||||||||||||
| High school | Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Maryland) |
|||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 255 lb (116 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| College | Louisville (2014–2016) | |||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 2016 / Round: 2 / Pick: 37th overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Houston Rockets | ||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2016–present | |||||||||||||
| League | Israeli Basketball Premier League | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Houston Rockets | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | →Rio Grande Valley Vipers | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Greensboro Swarm | |||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Wonju DB Promy | |||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Zadar | |||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Bnei Herzliya | |||||||||||||
| 2022 | Dinamo Sassari | |||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | |||||||||||||
| 2023 | Joventut Badalona | |||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Goyang Sono Skygunners | |||||||||||||
| 2024 | Santeros de Aguada | |||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Wonju DB Promy | |||||||||||||
| 2025–present | Bnei Herzliya | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
Medals
|
||||||||||||||
Chinanu Michael Onuaku (born November 1, 1996) is an American professional basketball player. He plays for Bnei Herzliya in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He also played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. In the 2021–22 season, he was the top rebounder in the Israeli Basketball Premier League.
Onuaku is famous for his special way of shooting free throws. He shoots them underhand, which is very unusual in modern basketball. A famous player named Rick Barry also used this style and was very good at it. Many players today think this "granny style" is embarrassing. But Chinanu found great success with it! His free throw percentage jumped from 46.7% in college to 72.4% in his first professional year.
Contents
Chinanu Onuaku's Early Basketball Days
High School Achievements
Chinanu Onuaku went to Riverdale Baptist School. In his senior year, he was a star player. He averaged 12.4 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 5.5 blocks per game. He helped his team get a great record of 30 wins and 9 losses. They also won the Capital Beltway conference title.
When he finished high school, experts thought he was one of the best young players. Rivals.com ranked him as the 74th best prospect. ESPN ranked him 75th, and Scout.com said he was the seventh-best center in the country.
College Basketball Career
Onuaku played college basketball for the University of Louisville. He played there for two seasons, from 2014 to 2016. In his second year, he was really impressive. He averaged 9.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game.
He was recognized for his strong defense and overall play. He was named to the All-ACC Defensive Team. He also earned an All-ACC honorable mention. He had 11 "double-doubles," which means he got double-digit numbers in two different stats (like points and rebounds) in 11 games. In May 2016, Chinanu decided to enter the NBA draft to become a professional player.
Chinanu Onuaku's Professional Journey
Starting with the Houston Rockets (2016–2018)
On June 23, 2016, Chinanu Onuaku was picked by the Houston Rockets. He was the 37th player chosen in the 2016 NBA draft. He then joined the Rockets for the 2016 NBA Summer League. On July 20, 2016, he officially signed his contract with the team.
He played his first NBA game on December 26, 2016. He scored six points and grabbed three rebounds in a win against the Phoenix Suns. In that game, he even made two free throws using his unique underhand style! During his first year, Onuaku also played many games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. This team was the Rockets' minor league team, known as their D-League (now G-League) affiliate.
In August 2018, Onuaku was traded from the Rockets to the Dallas Mavericks. However, he was released by the Mavericks just four days later. He then signed with the Portland Trail Blazers in September 2018 but was released before the season started.
Playing for the Greensboro Swarm (2018–2019)
On October 20, 2018, Chinanu Onuaku was chosen as the second overall pick in the 2018 NBA G League draft. He joined the Greensboro Swarm team.
Playing Overseas: Asia and Europe
After his time in the G-League, Chinanu Onuaku began playing for teams around the world.
Wonju DB Promy (2019–2020)
On October 3, 2019, Onuaku signed with Wonju DB Promy in the Korean Basketball League. He had a great season there, averaging 14.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game.
Zadar (2020–2021)
On October 14, 2020, Onuaku moved to Europe. He signed with Zadar in the Croatian League. He helped them win the Croatian League championship in 2021. He also won the Croatian Cup and was named MVP of the Croatian Cup that year.
Bnei Herzliya (2021–2022)
On July 21, 2021, Chinanu signed with Bnei Herzliya in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. This was a very successful period for him. On February 17, 2022, his team won the Israeli Basketball State Cup. Bnei Herzliya beat Hapoel Tel Aviv 87–82 in the final game. Onuaku was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the game. He scored 30 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, had 4 assists, and 4 blocks. For the entire 2021–22 season, he led the league in rebounds, averaging 9.9 per game. He was also named the Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP for 2022.
Dinamo Sassari (2022)
On July 20, 2022, he signed with Dinamo Sassari in the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).
Hapoel Tel Aviv (2022–2023)
On November 13, 2022, he returned to Israel. He signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Israeli Basketball Premier League.
Joventut Badalona (2023)
On July 27, 2023, Onuaku signed with Joventut Badalona in the Spanish Liga ACB.
Goyang Sono Skygunners (2023–2024)
On November 13, 2023, Onuaku joined the Goyang Sono Skygunners in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) for a second time.
Santeros de Aguada (2024)
On March 21, 2024, Onuaku signed with the Santeros de Aguada in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league.
Second Time with Wonju DB Promy (2024–2025)
On June 27, 2024, Onuaku signed again with the Wonju DB Promy of the Korean Basketball League (KBL).
Bnei Herzliya (2025–Present)
On April 14, 2025, he signed to play with Bnei Herzliya in the Israeli Basketball Premier League once more.
Chinanu Onuaku's Family Life
Chinanu Onuaku is the son of Nwaneka and Christopher Onuaku. He has three older brothers and sisters: Ify, Arinze, and Chuk. His brother, Arinze, is also a professional basketball player, just like Chinanu!
See also
In Spanish: Chinanu Onuaku para niños
