Oderah "O. D." Anosike (born January 3, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Manisa BB of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi. He played college basketball for

Siena College Siena College is an American private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York. Siena was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937. The college was named after Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher. St ...

. In the 2011–12 NCAA Division I season, Anosike led Division I in rebounding, with a 12.5 per game average. He then repeated as the country's top rebounder 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 ...

, with an 11.4 per game average.

College career

Anosike began his college basketball career in 2009–10. Anosike's contributions in his inaugural year were modest; he averaged 2.7 points and 3.4 rebounds, in 12.1 minutes per game. He was, however, only one of four Siena players to appear in all 34 of the team's games. During Anosike's

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

season, he averaged 8.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Then-teammate

Ryan Rossiter Ryan Francis Rossiter (born September 14, 1989) is a US-born Japanese professional basketball power forward for the Alvark Tokyo of the B.League. Rossiter was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference player of the year and an All-American as a se ...

was a prolific rebounder as well, and Anosike believes he could have grabbed more rebounds that season, had it not been for Rossiter. The following year, his junior season, he nearly doubled his rebounding average, with Rossiter graduating the previous spring. Anosike averaged 15.0 points, and a nation-leading 12.5 rebounds per game, en route to a First Team All- Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) selection. He was also named to the Lou Henson (Mid-Major) All-American Team. During one stretch in 2011–12, Anosike recorded 17 straight double-doubles, which is a Siena record, and the second-longest streak in the previous 15 years of Division I basketball. Anosike repeated as the nation's top rebounder in 2012–13, after grabbing 11.4 per game. He was named a

Senior CLASS Award The Senior CLASS Award is awarded to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 NCAA Division I sports. An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete ...

candidate as student-athlete of the year, and in January, ESPN analyst

Jay Bilas Jay Scot Bilas (born December 24, 1963) is an American college basketball analyst who currently works for ESPN. Bilas is a former professional basketball player and coach who played for and served as an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke Uni ...

declared him to be the best rebounder in men's college basketball.

Professional career

2013–14 season

After going undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft, Anosike joined the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

summer league team for the

2013 NBA Summer League The 2013 NBA Summer League is a pro basketball league run by the NBA just after the 2013 NBA draft. It gives newly drafted players a chance to test their skills against each other, and to give them a feel for professional basketball. All 30 NBA ...

. On August 5, 2013, he signed a one-year deal with Scavolini Pesaro of the Italian Serie A. In addition to being named a league all-star, Anosike went on to be the Serie A leading rebounder during his rookie campaign. In his first professional season, he averaged 14.3 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game for Scavolini Pesaro. On May 18, 2014, he signed with

Strasbourg IG Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, most commonly known as SIG Basket or SIG Strasbourg, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Strasbourg. The club, founded in 1929, competes domestically in the French Pro A League, and ...

of France for the rest of the 2014–15 LNB Pro A season.

2014–15 season

In July 2014, Anosike joined the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

for the

2014 NBA Summer League The 2014 NBA Summer League consists of two pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA and the Orlando Magic just after the 2014 NBA Draft. Ten teams took part in the week-long summer league at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, from July 5 t ...

. On July 15, 2014, he signed a one-year deal with

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). ...

of Italy.

2015–16 season

On August 24, 2015, he signed a one-year deal with Laboral Kutxa Baskonia of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

and the Euroleague. On October 4, he parted ways with Baskonia before appearing in a game for them. Three days later, he signed with the Greek club AEK Athens. On November 27, he parted ways with AEK after appearing in four

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

games and five Eurocup games. On January 7, 2016, Anosike signed with

Enel Brindisi New Basket Brindisi, for sponsorship reasons named Happy Casa Brindisi or shortly Brindisi, is a professional Italian basketball based in Brindisi, Apulia. It plays in the first division LBA in the 2022–23 season. Founded in 2004, the well-s ...

of Italy for the rest of the

2015–16 Lega Basket Serie A The 2015–16 Lega Basket Serie A, known for sponsorship reasons as the Serie A BEKO, was the 94th season of the Lega Basket Serie A, the highest professional basketball league in Italy. The regular season started on 4 October 2015 and finished o ...

season.

2016–17 season

On July 16, 2016, Anosike signed with the Italian team

Pallacanestro Varese Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian basketball league system, Italian first ...

2020–21 season

On September 17, 2020, Anosike signed with Fuerza Regia de Monterrey of the Mexican Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional. On January 9, 2021, Anosike moved to Lavrio of the Greek Basket League, where he clinched the league finals for the first time.

2021–22 season

On July 27, 2021, Anosike returned to Fuerza Regia. He averaged 10.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. On December 20, 2021, Anosike signed with Cholet Basket of the

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

2022–23 season

On August 28, 2022, he has signed with Manisa BB of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi. After his season in Turkey, in 2023, Anosike played in Libya for

Al-Ahly Benghazi Al-Ahly Sports Cultural & Social Club () known as Al-Ahly SCSC is a Libyan Sports club based in Benghazi, Libya. Al-Ahly SC has its roots in a political party, the Omar al Mukhtar society. History Al-Ahly SC Libya was made a professional footba ...

and won the

Libyan Division I Basketball League The Libyan Division I Basketball League (LBL) is the highest tier professional basketball league in Libya. It is organized by the Libyan Arab Basketball Federation. Teams *Al Ittihad Tripoli * Al Ahly Tripoli * Al Shabab * Al Nasr Benghazi * Al ...

championship.

2023 season

On November 4, 2023, he has signed with Mahram Tehran BC

2024 season

On January 18, 2024, he has signed with MKE Ankaragücü

The Basketball Tournament

OD Anosike played for Saints Alive in the 2018 edition of The Basketball Tournament. He scored 8 points and had 7 rebounds in the team's first-round loss to Team Fancy.

Personal

Anosike is the son of Ben and Ngozi Anosike, both Nigerian immigrants. He has seven siblings: Nicky, Nneoma, Rotanna, Ikenna, Ifesinachi, Anulika, and Ejimōför ("EJ"). One of his sisters,

Nicky Anosike Nkolika "Nicky" Nonyelum Anosike (born February 27, 1986) is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA, most recently with the Los Angeles Sparks. Personal Anosike was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Staten Island where s ...

, played college basketball for the

Tennessee Lady Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Collegi ...

, won two national championships, and as a senior, was named the NCAA Woman of the Year. She currently plays in the WNBA. Although his given name is Oderah, his nickname "O. D." was given to him when he was a young child. Explaining where it came from, he said, "In kindergarten the kids had trouble pronouncing Oderah, so my mom said, 'Just call him O. D., the first two letters of his name,' and it kind of stuck with me ever since." In Igbo, his name translates to, "whatever God has written, can never be taken away."