Christopher Ewaoche Obekpa (born 14 November 1993) is a Nigerian professional basketball player who last played for the

Rivers Hoopers Rivers Hoopers is a Nigerian basketball team based in Port Harcourt, Rivers. The team plays in the Nigerian Premier League. Established in 2009 as Royal Hoopers, the team has played in the Premier League since its inception. Hoopers have won the ...

. He played college basketball for

St. John's University St John's University may refer to: *St. John's University (New York City) **St. John's University School of Law **St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus *College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and Col ...

in Jamaica, New York from 2012 to 2015. As a freshman in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

he led NCAA Division I in blocks per game with a 4.03 average. After three years at St. John's, Obekpa transferred to UNLV, redshirted 2015–16, but then declared for the 2016 NBA draft. On 23 April 2016, Obekpa hired an agent, which officially prohibited him from finishing his college career.

Early life

Chris Obekpa was born in Makurdi, Nigeria to parents Elizabeth O. Ameh, his mother, and Gabriel Obekpa. He has six sisters and three brothers. His grandfather used to be the king of the Idoma tribe, his father is a prince, and his uncle Elias Ikeoyi Obekpa is the current king. Obekpa's grew up around soccer fans, but his interest in basketball was stronger. Word of his talents spread and he eventually was selected to play for the Nigerian under-16 national team. In 2010, he moved to the United States to attend his final two years of high school in hopes of being noticed by college programs (Chris' older brother, Ofu, played one year of basketball at the

University of Maine at Machias The University of Maine at Machias (UMaine Machias or UMM) is a public college in Machias, Maine. It is part of the University of Maine System. The institution was founded in 1909 as a normal school for educating teachers, and offers studies ...

). He moved to New York City and enrolled at Our Savior New American School (OSNAS) in Centereach. As a junior in 2010–11 he helped the school finish with a 17–10 record behind averages of 10 points, eight rebounds and five blocks per game. In three separate tournaments he was named the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. The following season, Obekpa's

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

year in 2011–12, he led OSNAS to a 25–5 overall record as well as a final national top-10 ranking by MaxPreps.com. He nearly averaged a triple-double: 12 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocks per game. The National Association of Christian Athletes named him a first team All-American, and national recruiting services listed him as a top-100 overall recruit (top-20 for centers).

College career

Colleges that expressed interest in him were UCLA, Connecticut, DePaul, Cincinnati, Oregon, and St. John's, among others. Obekpa ultimately chose St. John's because it was in his adopted home city and he did not want to have to re-adjust to another city's culture so quickly; he felt comfortable in New York. Obekpa quickly established himself as a premier shot blocker during his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

campaign in 2012–13. In his first collegiate game, he set a St. John's record with eight blocks. Less than one month later, on 8 December 2012, he recorded a new school record 11 blocks in a game against Fordham; this total was one shy of the Big East Conference record. Obekpa finished his first year as the top shot blocker in the nation with a 4.03 per game average after recording 133 blocks in 33 games. St. John's earned a berth into the

2013 National Invitation Tournament The 2013 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2013 NCAA tournament. The annual tournament began on March 19 on campus sites and ended on April ...

where they lost to Virginia in the second round. On 4 August 2015, Obekpa announced he was transferring to UNLV. After sitting out the 2015–16 season due to NCAA transfer rules, Obekpa declared for the NBA draft. On 23 April 2016, he hired sports agent Aaron Turner, which officially ended his collegiate eligibility.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Obekpa joined the Miami Heat for the

2016 NBA Summer League The 2016 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week ...

. On 21 October, he signed with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

, but was waived the next day. On 31 October 2016, he was acquired by the Santa Cruz Warriors of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

as an affiliate player of Golden State. In July 2017, Obekpa played for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

during the

2017 NBA Summer League The 2017 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Eight teams participated in the wee ...

. For the 2017–18 season, he played in Turkey with Trabzonspor. For the 2018–19 season, Obekpa played in Lebanon for

Al Riyadi Al Riyadi Club Beirut ( ar, نادي الرياضي بيروت, lit=Sporting Club Beirut) is a multi-sports club based in Manara, a district in Beirut, Lebanon. Founded in 1934, the basketball team competes in the Lebanese Basketball League. ...

. On 7 June 2019, Obekpa signed with Italian team

Sidigas Avellino S.S. Felice Scandone was an Italian professional basketball club based in Avellino, Campania. Founded in 1948, the team has been a regular in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the first tier of basketball in Italy, for 19 years (2000/01 to 2018/19). ...

. He never made it to Italy however, instead signing with the New Zealand Breakers for the

2019–20 NBL season The 2019–20 NBL season was the 42nd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. Teams Nine teams competed in the 2019–20 Season with the addition of South East Melbourne Phoenix. Off-season changes *The ...

on 6 August 2019. He was released by the Breakers a week before the start of the season due to a knee injury. On 28 February 2022, Obekpa joined Guinean club SLAC of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) In five games in the Sahara Conference, he led the league with 4.6 blocks per game. On 14 April 2022, Obekpa signed with the Newfoundland Growlers of the

CEBL The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is a men's professional minor league basketball organization. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams competing all owned and operated by ownership group Canadian Basketball V ...

. On 25 September 2022, he joined Al-Ahli Benghazi for the Arab Club Basketball Championship. In November 2022, Obekpa signed a short-term contract with Nigerian club

in the

2022 NBBF Premier League The 2022 NBBF Premier League was the 21st season of the Nigerian Premier League, the top division of professional basketball in Nigeria. After the 2021 season was organised by the Nigerian Ministry of Youth and Sports, the organisation returned ...

Final 8.

BAL career statistics

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2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

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References

External links