Nigerian NBA Players: Every Player Born in Nigeria (2026-27)
All 5 players on an NBA roster this season who were born in Nigeria.
Updated Sep 1, 2026 · rosters as of the 2026-27 preseason
- Players
- 5
- Average height
- 6'9"
- Average age
- 23.8
- Teams represented
- 5 of 30
- Tallest
- Ugonna Onyenso (7'0")
- Shortest
- Josh Okogie (6'4")
- Oldest
- Josh Okogie (28)
- Youngest
- Ugonna Onyenso (21)
Birthplace, not citizenship. These lists group players by the country they were born in, which is what the public roster data records. A player born in one country may hold another nationality, may have grown up elsewhere, and may represent a different country internationally.
Five NBA players on 2026-27 rosters were born in Nigeria, spreading across 5 different teams. Centers dominate the group — 3 of the 5 players listed play the position — with one forward and one guard rounding out the roster.
The tallest player born in Nigeria is Ugonna Onyenso of the Detroit Pistons, who stands at 7'0". The shortest is Josh Okogie of the Utah Jazz at 6'4". Ages range from 21 to 27, making this a notably young collection of players.
Think you'd know these players from their team, height, age and jersey number alone?
Play Guess-the-Player with only players born in Nigeria →| Player | Team | Pos | Ht | Age | Birthplace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adem Bona
|
Philadelphia 76ers
|
C | 6'10" | 23 | Ebonyi State, Nigeria |
Charles Bassey
|
Golden State Warriors
|
C | 6'10" | 25 | Lagos, Nigeria |
Felix Okpara
|
Washington Wizards
|
F | 6'10" | 22 | Lagos, Nigeria |
Josh Okogie
|
Utah Jazz
|
G | 6'4" | 28 | Lagos, Nigeria |
Ugonna Onyenso
|
Detroit Pistons
|
C | 7'0" | 21 | Owerri, Nigeria |
Click any column heading to sort. Players with no college listed came into the league from overseas or straight out of high school.
Where in Nigeria these players were born
Lagos is the most common birthplace, with 3 of the 5 players — Charles Bassey, Felix Okpara, and Josh Okogie — born there. Adem Bona was born in Ebonyi State, Nigeria, and Ugonna Onyenso was born in Owerri, Nigeria. This page lists birthplace only; it makes no claim about the nationality or international representation of any player.
College paths for Nigeria-born players
All five players attended college in the United States before reaching the NBA. Their programs include UCLA (Adem Bona), Western Kentucky (Charles Bassey), Tennessee (Felix Okpara), Georgia Tech (Josh Okogie), and Virginia (Ugonna Onyenso). No single school produced more than one player on this list.
Nigeria-born players in a broader context
These 5 players are part of a larger group of 110 international players across 43 countries of birth represented in the 2026-27 NBA. Nigeria-born players account for 5 of those spots, all on different teams.