Isaac Nnamdi Okoro (born January 26, 2001) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

. Listed at and , he plays the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger ...

position. Okoro played basketball for McEachern High School in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

for four years, helping his team win the state championship and achieve national success in his senior season. He was considered a five-star

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

and a four-star recruit by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a larg ...

and

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

. After his freshman college season at Auburn, he was named to the second team All-SEC.

Early life

Okoro was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

to Nigerian parents and was raised close to

metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...

. His father, Godwin, emigrated from

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

in the 1980s. His mother, Gloria, is also from Nigeria. Okoro started playing basketball in his local church league. When he was around seven to eight years old, he began training under the guidance of

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) coach Omar Cooper, the father of his future high school teammate, Sharife Cooper. He played for the A.O.T. Running Rebels of the Nike EYBL circuit.

High school career

Okoro played high school basketball for McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Georgia. In his freshman season, he averaged 15 points and eight rebounds per game, helping his team win the regional title and reach the

Georgia High School Association The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) is an organization that governs athletics and activities for member high schools in Georgia, USA. GHSA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations. The association has 463 pu ...

Class 7A state quarterfinals. As a sophomore, Okoro averaged 22.5 points per game, leading McEachern to the regional championship and the Class 7A state semifinals. He earned '' Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' Class 7A All-State second team and

MaxPreps MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is owned by Paramount Global and is a division of CBS Sports. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including b ...

Sophomore All-American third team honors. In his junior season, Okoro averaged 20.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, helping McEachern reach the Class 7A state quarterfinals. He was named to the ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' Class 7A All-State first team and the ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' All-USA Georgia first team. In the offseason, Okoro had success on the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the E ...

, a prominent amateur circuit, with Athletes of Tomorrow. In his senior season, Okoro averaged 19.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.7 steals per game. He led McEachern to titles at the

City of Palms Classic The City of Palms Classic is an annual high school basketball tournament held in Fort Myers, Florida. History The tournament began in 1973 as a high school boys' basketball tournament with a seven-team format. The earliest editions featured team ...

and the Tournament of Champions. His team ended the regular season with a 32–0 record, becoming the first undefeated team in the highest Georgia classification since 1995 and receiving a 1 national ranking from multiple websites, including MaxPreps. Okoro scored 16 points to help his team win its first Class 7A state championship. He shared ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' state most valuable player recognition with teammate Sharife Cooper. Okoro was named to the MaxPreps All-American second team and the ''USA Today'' All-USA Georgia first team. On April 12, 2019, Okoro competed in the

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of international ...

, an international

all-star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

. On April 26, 2019, Okoro became only the second basketball player in McEachern history to have his jersey retired.

Recruiting

By the end of his high school career, Okoro was considered a five-star

and a four-star recruit by

and

. On July 25, 2018, he committed to play

for Auburn over offers from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, among others. Okoro became the second-highest ranked commit in program history, according to 247Sports composite rankings, behind only

Mustapha Heron Mustapha Jahhad Heron (born December 12, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Manawatu Jets of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played college basketball for the Auburn Tigers and the St. John's Red ...

College career

Okoro scored 12 points in his Auburn debut, a 84–73 win over Georgia Southern. The following game, he attained 17 points in a 76–66 victory over

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

. Okoro was named

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) Freshman of the Week on November 18, 2019. He scored a season-high 23 points in a 83–79 win over Vanderbilt on January 8, 2020. Okoro did not play in a February 15 game against

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

due to a

hamstring injury Straining of the hamstring, also known as a pulled hamstring, is defined as an excessive stretch or tear of muscle fibers and related tissues. Hamstring injuries are common in athletes participating in many sports. Track and field athletes are ...

. After the regular season, he was named to the All-SEC Second Team, the SEC All-Freshman Team and the SEC All-Defensive Team by the league's coaches. Okoro averaged 12.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and two assists per game. After his freshman season, he announced that he would enter the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

Professional career

Cleveland Cavaliers (2020–present)

Okoro was selected with the fifth pick overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the

. Three days later on November 21, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that they had signed Okoro. In the Cleveland Cavaliers first preseason game of the

2020–21 NBA season The 2020–21 NBA season was the 75th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), though the 75th anniversary was not celebrated until the following season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the regular season was reduced to 72 games for ea ...

, he got the game winning and-one to make it 114–116 and converted the

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

to make it 114–117 and win against the Indiana Pacers. On December 23, 2020, Okoro made his NBA debut, starting and recording 11 points, five assists, and three rebounds in a 121–114 win over the Charlotte Hornets. On May 4, 2021, Okoro scored a career-high 32 points during an overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns.

National team career

Okoro played for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

at the

2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup The 2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup (Spanish: Copa del Mundo de Baloncesto FIBA Sub-17 2018) was the 5th edition of the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by the U17 ...

in Argentina. In seven games, he averaged 4.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, helping his team win the gold medal.

Career statistics

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 67 , , 67 , , 32.4 , , .420 , , .290 , , .726 , , 3.1 , , 1.9 , , .9 , , .4 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 67 , , 61 , , 29.6 , , .480 , , .350 , , .768 , , 3.0 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , .3 , , 8.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 134 , , 128 , , 31.0 , , .446 , , .315 , , .747 , , 3.0 , , 1.9 , , .9 , , .3 , , 9.2

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Auburn , 28 , , 28 , , 31.5 , , .514 , , .290 , , .672 , , 4.4 , , 2.0 , , .9 , , .9 , , 12.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 28 , , 28 , , 31.5 , , .514 , , .290 , , .672 , , 4.4 , , 2.0 , , .9 , , .9 , , 12.9

References

External links

Auburn Tigers bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okoro, Isaac Living people 2001 births African-American basketball players American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Auburn Tigers men's basketball players Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Small forwards Basketball players from Atlanta 21st-century African-American sportspeople