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Chinanu Onuaku

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Chinanu Onuaku
No. 33 – Wonju DB Promy
PositionPower forward / Center
LeagueKorean Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1996-11-01) November 1, 1996 (age 28)
Lanham, Maryland, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High schoolRiverdale Baptist
(Upper Marlboro, Maryland)
CollegeLouisville (2014–2016)
NBA draft2016: 2nd round, 37th overall pick
Selected by the Houston Rockets
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2018Houston Rockets
2016–2018→Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2018–2019Greensboro Swarm
2019–2020Wonju DB Promy
2020–2021Zadar
2021–2022Bnei Herzliya
2022Dinamo Sassari
2022–2023Hapoel Tel Aviv
2023Joventut Badalona
2023–2024Goyang Sono Skygunners
2024Santeros de Aguada
2024–presentWonju DB Promy
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the  United States
FIBA U19 World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2015 Greece Team

Chinanu Michael Onuaku (born November 1, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Wonju DB Promy of the Korean Basketball League (KBL). He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. In 2021–22, he led the Israeli Basketball Premier League in rebounds per game.

Onuaku is known for his use of underhand free throws, an unorthodox shooting technique most famously used by Rick Barry, one of the most accurate free throw shooters in NBA history. Underhand free throws are very rarely used in the modern NBA as many NBA players view the technique as embarrassing to use; the technique is often pejoratively referred to as "granny style". Onuaku found success by adopting this shooting method, increasing his free throw percentage from 46.7% his freshman year of college to 72.4% his rookie year.[1]

High school career

[edit]

Onuaku attended Riverdale Baptist School where he averaged 12.4 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 5.5 blocks as a senior, leading Riverdale to a 30–9 record and the Capital Beltway conference title.[2]

When Onuaku graduated, he was considered the 74th-best prospect by Rivals.com,[3] 75th by ESPN[4] and was rated as the seventh-best center in the nation by Scout.com.[5]

College career

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Onuaku played two seasons of college basketball for the University of Louisville between 2014 and 2016. In his sophomore season, he averaged 9.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks,[6] earning All-ACC Defensive Team and All-ACC honorable mention honors and posting 11 double-doubles.[7]

In May 2016, Onuaku announced he would enter the NBA draft.[7]

Professional career

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Houston Rockets (2016–2018)

[edit]

On June 23, 2016, Onuaku was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 37th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft[8] and later joined them for the 2016 NBA Summer League.[9] On July 20, 2016, he signed with the Rockets.[6] He made his NBA debut on December 26, 2016, coming on in the fourth quarter and recording six points and three rebounds in a 131–115 win over the Phoenix Suns. He hit a pair of free throws in the game with his underhanded free-throw action.[10] During his rookie season, Onuaku had multiple assignments with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets' D-League affiliate.[11] On May 1, 2017, he was suspended two games without pay for pushing a game official. The incident occurred during an altercation in the final seconds of the Vipers' 122–96 loss to Raptors 905 in game 3 of the 2017 NBA D-League Finals on April 27.[12]

On August 2, 2018, Onuaku was traded from the Rockets to the Dallas Mavericks for the rights to forward Maarty Leunen.[13] He was waived four days later.[14]

On September 4, 2018, Onuaku signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.[15] On October 13, 2018, he was waived by the Trail Blazers.[16]

Greensboro Swarm (2018–2019)

[edit]

On October 20, 2018, Onuaku was selected with the second overall pick in the 2018 NBA G League draft by the Greensboro Swarm.[17]

Wonju DB Promy (2019–2020)

[edit]

Onuaku spent the 2019–20 season in South Korea with Wonju DB Promy. He averaged 14.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.[18]

Zadar (2020–2021)

[edit]

On October 14, 2020, Onuaku signed with Zadar in the Croatian League.[18]

Bnei Herzliya (2021–2022)

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On July 21, 2021, he signed with Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[19] On February 17, 2022, Onuaku won the Israeli Basketball State Cup after Bnei Herzliya Basket edged out Hapoel Tel Aviv 87–82. Onuaku was crowned as the game's MVP with 30 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and a 50 PIR. For the 2021–22 season, he led the league in rebounds, averaging 9.9 per game.[20]

Dinamo Sassari (2022)

[edit]

On July 20, 2022, he signed with Dinamo Sassari of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).[21]

Hapoel Tel Aviv (2022–2023)

[edit]

On November 13, 2022, he signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[22]

Joventut Badalona (2023)

[edit]

On July 27, 2023, Onuaku signed with Joventut Badalona of the Spanish Liga ACB.[23]

Goyang Sono Skygunners (2023–2024)

[edit]

On November 7, 2023, Onuaku signed with the Goyang Sono Skygunners of the Korean Basketball League.[24]

Santeros de Aguada (2024)

[edit]

On March 21, 2024, Onuaku signed with the Santeros de Aguada of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional.[25]

NBA career statistics

[edit]
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Houston 5 1 10.4 .714 - 1.000 2.0 .6 .6 .2 2.8
2017–18 Houston 1 0 22.0 .400 - - 4.0 1.0 .0 .0 4.0
Career 6 1 12.3 .583 - 1.000 2.3 .7 .5 .2 3.0

Playoffs

[edit]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018 Houston 1 0 3.0 - - - 1.0 1.0 1.0 .0 .0
Career 1 0 3.0 - - - 1.0 1.0 1.0 .0 .0

Personal life

[edit]

Onuaku is the son of Nwaneka and Christopher Onuaku, and has three older siblings: Ify, Arinze and Chuk. Onuaku's brother, Arinze, is also a professional basketball player.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Reichert, Chris (June 27, 2017). "Chinanu Onuaku is revitalizing the underhand free throw". Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Chinanu Onuaku - 2015-16 Men's Basketball". GoCards.com. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  3. ^ "Chinanu Onuaku - Rivals.com". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  4. ^ "Chinanu Onuaku Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  5. ^ "Chinanu Onuaku - Scout.com". Scout.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Joshi, Hiren (July 20, 2016). "Rockets Sign Rookie Chinanu Onuaku". NBA.com. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Greer, Jeff (July 20, 2016). "Final answer: Onuaku confirms NBA draft entry". Courier-Journal.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  8. ^ Suarez, Paul (June 24, 2016). "Rockets Select Chinanu Onuaku and Zhou Qi in 2016 NBA Draft". NBA.com. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  9. ^ Joshi, Hiren (July 1, 2016). "Rockets to Compete in Samsung NBA Summer League 2016". NBA.com. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  10. ^ "Harden scores 32 points and Rockets cruise past Suns 131-115". ESPN.com. December 26, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  11. ^ "2016-17 NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  12. ^ "Rio Grande Valley's Chinanu Onuaku suspended". NBA.com. May 1, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  13. ^ Associated Press, The (August 3, 2018). "Mavericks get center Chinanu Onuaku in trade with Rockets". NBA.com. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  14. ^ "Mavs waive Chinanu Onuaku, acquired in trade with Rockets". ESPN.com. August 6, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  15. ^ "Trail Blazers Sign Three Players". NBA.com. September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  16. ^ "Trail Blazers Waive Oliver, Onuaku, & Payton II". NBA.com. October 13, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  17. ^ "Salt Lake City Stars Select Willie Reed With No. 1 Overall Pick Of 2018 NBA G League Draft". NBA.com. October 20, 2018. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  18. ^ a b Zule, Zeljko (October 14, 2020). "Zadar inks Chinanu Onuaku". Eurobasket. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  19. ^ "Eurobasket". Eurobasket. July 21, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  20. ^ "Israeli BSL Stats - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
  21. ^ Maggi, Alessandro (July 20, 2022). "Chinanu Onuaku officially signs with Dinamo Sassari". Sportando. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  22. ^ Skerletic, Dario (November 1, 2022). "Chinanu Onuaku signs with Hapoel Tel Aviv". Sportando. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  23. ^ Skerletic, Dario (July 27, 2023). "Joventut Badalona inks Chinanu Onuaku". Sportando. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  24. ^ 알럽바스켓공 [@baekpd1983] (November 7, 2023). "📝 DONE DEAL : Sono Skygunners has an agreement with Chinanu Onuaku. Note : Chinanu Onuaku will enter South Korea tomorrow. https://x.com/baekpd1983/status/1721515000295285053?s=20 #ChinanuOnuaku #SonoSkygunners #KBL" (Tweet). Retrieved March 23, 2024 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ "Los Santeros de Aguada traerán como refuerzo al centro de 6'10" Chinanu Onuaku". ElNuevoDia.com (in Spanish). March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
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