Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike (; born July 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted by the Sparks first overall in the 2012 WNBA draft and signed an endorsement deal with Nike soon after. Ogwumike spent her first 12 seasons with the Sparks and 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.
Her name "Nneka" means "Mother is Supreme" in the Igbo language of Nigeria, where her family hails from. She is the older sister of Chiney Ogwumike, the first overall pick in the 2014 WNBA draft, who most recently played for the Sparks. 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.
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Early life
Ogwumike was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2008 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored 17 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and earned MVP honors for the White team. She averaged 16.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 2.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per game during the 2007–08 season at Cy-Fair High School.
College career
Ogwumike chose Stanford over Baylor, Duke, Connecticut, Tennessee and Notre Dame. She was a member of USA Under 18 Team that won gold in Argentina on July 23–27, 2008. Nneka tallied 20 points and 15 rebounds in the championship game of the Under-18 FIBA Americas. She led team USA to a 5–0 record while leading the team in scoring and rebounding. She was named MVP of this tournament in Argentina.
Nneka also played with her sister, Chiney Ogwumike, at Stanford.
In a 100–80 victory over Oregon on January 23, 2010, Ogwumike set a new Cardinal record for rebounds in a game with 23.
On December 20, 2011, Ogwumike scored a career-high 42 points on 19 for 27 shooting while also grabbing 17 rebounds in a 97–80 win over the sixth-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols.
On January 7, 2012, Ogwumike surpassed both the 2,000 point and the 1,000 rebound thresholds for her career with a 33-point, 16 rebound performance against Oregon State.
Stanford reached the NCAA Final Four every year Ogwumike played at Stanford, and reached the championship game once.
Ogwumike left the Stanford Cardinal as the second all-time leading scorer for the women's basketball program, behind only Candice Wiggins.
USA Basketball
Ogwumike was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The event was held in July 2008, when the USA team defeated host Argentina to win the championship. Ogwumike helped the team win all five games, starting all five games and leading all scorers with 12.6 points per game. She was also the leading rebounder with 8 per game. Ogwumike recorded 15 rebounds in the final game against Argentina, an U18 record.
Ogwumike continued on to the USA Women's U19 team which represented the US in the 2009 U19 World's Championship, held in Bangkok, Thailand in July and August 2009. Although the USA team lost the opening game to Spain, they went on to win their next seven games to earn a rematch against Spain in the finals, and won the game 81–71 to earn the gold medal. Ogwumike started all nine games and was the team's leading scorer, with 13.6 points per game. She was the leading rebounder with almost ten per game, and was named to the all-tournament team.
Ogwumike played on the team presenting the US at the 2011 World University Games held in Shenzhen, China, along with her sister, Chiney Ogwumike . The team, coached by Bill Fennelly, won all six games to earn the gold medal. Ogwumike averaged 13.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, both second place on the team behind Elena Delle Donne.
Ogwumike had also played for Team USA at the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women, helping Team USA beat Spain 77–64 in the gold medal game.
She has been pushing to switch nationality to represent Nigeria's D'Tigress after she withdrew from representing the USA women's team in 2020.
On October 17, 2025, Ogwumike confirmed in a phone interview with the Associated Press that she has lost her third appeal to play for Nigeria.
WNBA career
Los Angeles Sparks (2012–2023)
On April 16, 2012, the Los Angeles Sparks picked Ogwumike first overall in the 2012 WNBA draft. She became the second player from Cypress-Fairbanks High School to be drafted No. 1 overall into the WNBA after Lindsey Harding in 2007. On July 12, 2012, Ogwumike set a career-high in rebounds with 20 to go along with 22 points in a 77–74 win over the eventual WNBA champion Indiana Fever. On September 13, 2012, she scored a season high 30 points on 10 of 15 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds in an 86–77 win over the Chicago Sky. In the regular season finale on September 20, 2012, Ogwumike matched her teammate Candace Parker for team highs in both points and rebounds with each player earning 22 and 11, respectively, in a 92–76 win over the defending WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx. Ogwumike was 10 for 13 from the field.
Ogwumike was named WNBA Rookie of the Month four out of five times in her rookie season. On October 7, 2012, Ogwumike was awarded as the 2012 WNBA Rookie of the Year. It marked the fifth consecutive year that the award had been won by the first overall draft pick.
During the 2014 season, Ogwumike averaged 15.8 ppg and was voted as a WNBA All-star for the second time in her career along with her sister Chiney Ogwumike, becoming the first pair of sisters to be selected into a WNBA All-Star game.
In 2016, Ogwumike re-signed with the Sparks once her rookie contract expired. During the season, Ogwumike was named AP WNBA Player of the Year, while finishing third in the league in scoring (19.7 ppg), third in the league in rebounding (9.1 rpg) and first in field goal percentage (.665). Her season performance would also help her earn the 2016 WNBA Most Valuable Player Award. During the season, Ogwumike had set a WNBA record for most consecutive field goals made (23 consecutive field goals over three games) and set a new WNBA single-game record for most field-goal attempts without a miss in which she scored 32 points on 12 of 12 field goal shooting in a 97–73 win over the Dallas Wings. On June 30, 2016, she scored a career-high 38 points along with 11 rebounds in an 84–75 victory against the Atlanta Dream. In addition, she set the basketball record for highest true shooting percentage by reaching 73.7% during the season, becoming the most efficient shooter in the history of professional basketball. With a supporting cast of Candace Parker and Kristi Toliver, the Sparks were a championship contender in the league with a 26–8 record. With the WNBA's new playoff format in effect, the Sparks were the number 2 seed in the league with a double-bye to the semi-finals (the last round before the WNBA Finals) facing the Chicago Sky. The Sparks defeated the Sky 3–1 in the series, advancing to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2003. In the WNBA Finals, it was the second time in league history where two teams from the same conference faced each other in the Finals due to the new playoff format. Against the championship-defending Minnesota Lynx, the Sparks won the championship in a hard-fought five-game series, winning their first championship since 2002. Ogwumike won her first career WNBA championship. In game five of the series, Ogwumike had 12 points along with 12 rebounds and scored a game-winning shot after grabbing an offensive rebound to put the Sparks up 77–76 with 3 seconds left in the game. Ogwumike became the seventh player in WNBA history to win both the regular season MVP award and a championship in the same season.
Seattle Storm (2024–2026)
On February 5, 2024, Ogwumike signed a one-year contract with the Seattle Storm.
On February 8, 2025, Ogwumike re-signed with Seattle for one more year.
The New York Times (The Athletic) named Ogwumike as one of the 20 most admired leaders in sports from 2025, quoting professor Jennifer Lerner on Ogwumike's "sustained elite performance with low ego and low theatrics". Lerner also praised her "labor leadership skills and long-horizon institutional thinking".
Return to the Sparks and retirement
In 2026, during the brief free agency period, Ogwumike returned to the Sparks with a one year contract. On August 19, 2026, she announced that she would retire at the end of the 2026 WNBA season.
Overseas career
In the 2012–13 off-season, Ogwumike played in Poland for CCC Polkowice and won a championship with the team. In the 2013–2014 off-season, she played in China for Guangdong Vermilion Birds. In the 2014–2018 off-seasons, Ogwumike played in Russia for Dynamo Kursk and won the 2017 Euroleague with the club. She returned to Guangdong in 2019.
In November 2025, Ogwumike became the first player publicly attached to the Project B women's professional basketball league.
Personal life
Ogwumike was born in Cypress, Texas. She is the eldest of sisters who also play basketball: Chiney of the Los Angeles Sparks, and Erica and Olivia of the Rice University Owls. Youngest sister Erica attended University of Texas Southwestern Medical School after playing for Rice and is currently a dermatologist.
She is Catholic.
Philanthropy
In February 2024, Ogwumike joined the WNBA Changemakers Collective and their collaboration with VOICEINSPORT (VIS) as a mentor, "aimed at keeping girls in sport and developing diverse leaders on the court and beyond the game."
In August 2024, Ogwumike took over leadership of the non-profit voting rights organization, More Than a Vote, founded by LeBron James in 2020. Ogwumike has recruited several female athletes to join the organization and has committed to shifting its focus to women's reproductive rights for the 2024 election cycle.
