Chinanu Onuaku
Chinanu Onuaku
| Free Agent | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Power forward / Center | |||||||||||||
| League | NBA | |||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
| Born | November 1, 1996 Lanham, Maryland | |||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| High school | Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Maryland) | |||||||||||||
| College | Louisville (2014–2016) | |||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2016 / Round: 2 / Pick: 37th overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Houston Rockets | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2016–present | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Houston Rockets | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | →Rio Grande Valley Vipers | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Greensboro Swarm | |||||||||||||
Medals
| ||||||||||||||
Chinanu Michael Onuaku (born November 1, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals.
| Free Agent | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Power forward / Center | |||||||||||||
| League | NBA | |||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
| Born | November 1, 1996 Lanham, Maryland | |||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| High school | Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Maryland) | |||||||||||||
| College | Louisville (2014–2016) | |||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2016 / Round: 2 / Pick: 37th overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Houston Rockets | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2016–present | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Houston Rockets | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | →Rio Grande Valley Vipers | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Greensboro Swarm | |||||||||||||
Medals
| ||||||||||||||
High school career
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.[1]
Professional career
Houston Rockets (2016–2018)
On June 23, 2016, Onuaku was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 37th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft[7] and later joined them for the 2016 NBA Summer League.[8] On July 20, 2016, he signed with the Rockets.[5] 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.[9] During his rookie season, Onuaku had multiple assignments with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets' D-League affiliate.[10] 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.[11]
On August 2, 2018, Onuaku was traded from the Rockets to the Dallas Mavericks for the rights to forward Maarty Leunen.[12] He was waived four days later.[13]
Greensboro Swarm (2018–present)
On October 20, 2018, Onuaku was selected with the second overall pick in the 2018 NBA G League draft by the Greensboro Swarm.[16]
NBA career statistics
| 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
| 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
| 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
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.[1]