Ezinne Kalu facts for kids
| No. 23 – Zhejiang Golden Bulls | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Point guard | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 June 1992 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
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| Nationality | American / Nigerian | |||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Science Park Chargers | |||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8.11 in) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 80 kg (176 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Savannah State (2015) | |||||||||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 2015 / Undrafted | |||||||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2015–present | |||||||||||||||||||
| League | WCBA | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Clube Desportivo Torres | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Olivais Coimbra | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Vasas Akademia | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Rutronik Stars Keltern | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Landerneau Bretagne Basket | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Kayseri Basketbol | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Dynamo Kursk | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Oxygen Roma | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Atlanta Dream | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Zhejiang Golden Bulls | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Ezinne Kalu, born on June 26, 1992, is an amazing professional basketball player. She plays for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in China's WCBA league. Even though she was born in the United States, she plays for the Nigerian national team. She helped Nigeria win three championships in a row at the AfroBasket events in 2017, 2019, and 2021. She was even named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2019 Women's AfroBasket tournament!
Contents
Ezinne Kalu's Early Life and School Years
Ezinne was born in Newark, New Jersey. Her mom, Gwendolyn Covington, grew up in Greenville, SC. Her dad is from Nigeria.
High School Basketball Star
Ezinne went to Science Park High School in Newark. She was a fantastic player there. She was the first girl in her school's history to score over 2,000 points! This is a huge achievement in basketball. Because of her amazing skills, her jersey number was retired in December 2017. This means no one else at her school will wear that number.
College Success at Savannah State
After high school, Ezinne received a full scholarship to Savannah State University in Savannah, GA. This is a special type of college called an HBCU. In 2015, her team won their first ever MEAC Championship. Ezinne also made history at Savannah State. She was the first player there to score over 2,000 points in her college career. She finished college in May 2015 with a degree in African Studies.
Ezinne Kalu's Professional Basketball Journey
After college, Ezinne started her professional basketball career. She has played for many teams around the world.
Playing in Portugal
Ezinne spent two seasons playing in Portugal.
- In 2015, she joined Clube Desportivo Torres Novas. She scored about 22.7 points per game.
- After that, she played for Olivais Coimbra. There, she averaged about 21.5 points per game.
Moving to Hungary and Germany
In 2017, Ezinne signed with a Hungarian team called Vasas Akademia. She played one season there. In November 2018, she moved to Germany to play for the club Keltern. She helped her team reach the finals of the German Championship.
Playing in France and Beyond
In 2019, Ezinne joined the French team Landerneau BB. She was a key player for them. Since then, she has played for teams in Turkey (Kayseri Basketbol), Russia (Dynamo Kursk), Italy (Oxygen Roma), and the United States (Atlanta Dream). She currently plays for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in China.
Key Achievements in Her Professional Career
Ezinne has achieved many great things in her career:
- She won the AfroBasket tournament championship in 2021.
- She was named Guard of the Year in the French 1st Division in 2020.
- She was part of the All-Star top 5 at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Serbia in 2020.
- She was voted one of the Top 12 Best Players in Africa in 2020.
- She was the first woman to be sponsored by AFA Sports in 2019.
- She won the AfroBasket tournament championship in 2019 with a perfect record.
- She was the MVP of the 2019 AfroBasket tournament.
- She was named Defensive Player of the Year in Budapest's 1st Division in 2017.
- She won the AfroBasket tournament championship in 2017 with a perfect record.
- She was named Guard of the Year in the Portuguese 1st Division in 2016.
Ezinne Kalu's International Career
Ezinne is a very important player for the Nigerian national team.
Representing Nigeria on the World Stage
- In 2016, she played in the FIBA women's Olympic qualifying tournament.
- She helped Nigeria win the 2017 Women's Afrobasket tournament. She scored about 12 points per game.
- In 2018, she played in the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Spain. She averaged 10.6 points and 4.1 assists per game.
- She was named the Most Valuable Player at the 2019 Women's Afrobasket tournament. She averaged 14 points per game.
- Ezinne also played in the 2020 FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament. She was named to the All-Star team for that tournament.
- She was part of the Nigerian team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in July 2021. She led her team with 16 points in a close game against Team USA.
- In September 2021, she helped Nigeria's D'Tigress win the AfroBasket tournament again. She was named to the All-Star team for that tournament too.
Career Statistics Highlights
Ezinne Kalu has played many games in college and professionally. Here are some highlights of her statistics.
WNBA Regular Season (2024)
Ezinne played for the Atlanta Dream in the 2024 WNBA season.
- She played 1 game.
- She averaged 3.0 points per game.
WNBA Playoffs (2024)
She also played in the 2024 WNBA Playoffs for the Atlanta Dream.
- She played 1 game.
- She averaged 4.0 points per game.
College Statistics (Savannah State)
Ezinne had a very strong college career at Savannah State.
- She played 131 games in total.
- She averaged 16.2 points per game throughout her college career.
- Her highest scoring average in a season was 17.6 points per game in 2011–12.
