David Ugochukwu Nwaba (born January 14, 1993) 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

Motor City Cruise The Motor City Cruise are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Detroit, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Detroit Pistons. The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse. The franchise began play a ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

. He played college basketball for

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Although initially serving primarily pre-college high sc ...

and Cal Poly.

High school career

Nwaba attended University High School in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, where he was a two-time All-Western League Most Valuable Player honoree and all-league first team selection. As a senior in 2010–11, he averaged 22.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.

College career

While initially joining Hawaii Pacific, Nwaba redshirted the 2011-12 season and transferred to

in 2012. In 2012–13, he was named

Western State Conference The Western State Conference (WSC) is a college athletic conference that is affiliated with the California Community College Athletic Association. The conference was established in 1950, making it the oldest community college conference in Califo ...

South Division Player of the Year and to the All-California Community College Athletic Association state first team after averaging 20.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. In 2013, Nwaba transferred again, this time to Cal Poly. As a sophomore in 2013–14, he appeared in all 34 games with 30 starts and finished eighth among

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

players and 59th among

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

players with a team-leading 52.6 (140-for-266) percent field goal mark. He also finished second in the lineup with 11.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and 21 blocks. He was named to Big West All-Tournament Team after averaging 14.0 points and shooting 72.7 (16-for-22) percent from the floor in three contests. On December 14, 2013, he scored a career-high 22 points on 11-for-13 shooting against

Cal State Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system. In 2020, ...

. As a junior in 2014–15, Nwaba finished second in Cal Poly's lineup and 15th among Big West Conference players with 11.4 points per game. He also averaged 4.7 rebounds and had 31 steals at 1.3 per game. He recorded 16 double-digit scoring games, including a season-high 21 points against Gonzaga on December 20, 2014. As a senior in 2015–16, Nwaba earned All-Big West Honorable Mention selection after averaging 12.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals in 30 games. At the end of his Cal Poly career, Nwaba ranked 15th in program history in rebounds with a total of 465 and was one of 23 players to score more than 1,000 career points.

Professional career

Los Angeles D-Fenders (2016–2017)

After graduating from Cal Poly in Spring 2016 with a sociology degree, Nwaba headed to

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

to tryout for the NBA Development League's

Reno Bighorns Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. The Bighorns were awarded his rights but later traded those rights to the Los Angeles D-Fenders on October 30, 2016. Nwaba joined the D-Fenders for training camp and made the opening-night roster.

Los Angeles Lakers (2017)

On February 28, 2017, Nwaba signed a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. That night, Nwaba made his NBA debut in a 109–104 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, playing six minutes of fourth-quarter action. On March 11, 2017, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Lakers. He made his first start for the Lakers a day later, scoring six points in a 118–116 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. On March 21, 2017, he signed a multi-year contract with the Lakers. On April 1, 2017, he scored 19 points in a 115–104 loss to the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. During his rookie season with the Lakers, Nwaba was assigned back down to the D-Fenders four times. On July 12, 2017, he was waived by the Lakers.

Chicago Bulls (2017–2018)

On July 14, 2017, Nwaba was claimed off waivers by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

. Early in the 2017 season, Nwaba entered the starting lineup multiple times and was lauded by his teammates for his ability to contest shots. On February 22, 2018, Nwaba scored a career-high 21 points against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2018–2019)

On September 8, 2018, Nwaba signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Brooklyn Nets (2019–2020)

On July 17, 2019, Nwaba signed with the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...

. On December 19, Nwaba suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in a game against the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

. On January 3, 2020, Nwaba was waived by the Nets.

Houston Rockets (2020–2022)

On June 23, 2020, Nwaba signed a two-year deal with the Houston Rockets. On September 30, 2022, Nwaba was traded, along with

Trey Burke Alfonso Clark "Trey" Burke III (born November 12, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines where in the 2012–13 season, he earne ...

, Sterling Brown, and

Marquese Chriss Marquese De'Shawn Chriss (born July 2, 1997) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies and was sel ...

, to the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

in exchange for

Derrick Favors Derrick Bernard Favors (born July 15, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Favors played college basketball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for one season before being selected by the New Jersey N ...

Ty Jerome Ty Jeremy Jerome (born July 8, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. He played coll ...

, Maurice Harkless,

Théo Maledon Théo Louis Maledon (born 12 June 2001; pronounced ) is a French professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. He plays ...

and a future second-round pick. On October 17, Nwaba was waived by the Thunder.

Motor City Cruise (2022–present)

On December 17, 2022, Nwaba was traded from the

Lakeland Magic The Lakeland Magic are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Lakeland, Florida, and are affiliated with the Orlando Magic. The Magic began play in the 2017–18 season and play their home games at the RP Fundi ...

to the

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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

L.A. Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, 20 , , 2 , , 19.9 , , .580 , , .200 , , .641 , , 3.2 , , .7 , , .6 , , .4 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 70 , , 21 , , 23.5 , , .478 , , .346 , , .655 , , 4.7 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .4 , , 7.9 , - , 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. ...

, 51 , , 14 , , 19.3 , , .481 , , .320 , , .682 , , 3.2 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .3 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, 20 , , 0 , , 13.4 , , .521 , , .429 , , .667 , , 2.3 , , .4 , , .6 , , .6 , , 5.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, 30 , , 9 , , 22.6 , , .486 , , .270 , , .691 , , 3.9 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 46 , , 4 , , 13.2 , , .483 , , .306 , , .716 , , 3.3 , , .8 , , .6 , , .4 , , 5.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 237 , , 50 , , 19.3 , , .490 , , .320 , , .673 , , 3.7 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .4 , , 6.8

Personal life

Nwaba is the son of Theodore and Blessing Nwaba, both of whom are

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 ...

n of

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

origin. He has 5 siblings: two brothers Victor and Alex, and 3 sisters Jane, Precious, and Barbara. Barbara is a professional heptathlete who competed at

UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

, won the 2015 and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

National Championships title and competed in the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nwaba, David 1993 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players American people of Igbo descent American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Basketball players from Los Angeles Brooklyn Nets players Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball players Chicago Bulls players Cleveland Cavaliers players Houston Rockets players Los Angeles D-Fenders players Los Angeles Lakers players Santa Monica Corsairs men's basketball players Shooting guards Small forwards Undrafted National Basketball Association players University High School (Los Angeles) alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople