Chinanu Onuaku
| Free agent | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Power forward / Center | |||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||
|
Medals
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Chinanu Michael Onuaku (born November 1, 1996) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals.
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]
When Onuaku graduated, he was considered the 74th best prospect by Rivals.com,[2] 75th by ESPN[3] and was rated as the seventh-best center in the nation by Scout.com.[4]
College career
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,[5] earning All-ACC Defensive Team and All-ACC honorable mention honors and posting 11 double-doubles.[6]
In May 2016, Onuaku announced he would enter the NBA draft.[6]
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]
Portland Trail Blazers (2018–present)
On September 4, 2018, Onuaku signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.[14]
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]
References
- 1 2 "Chinanu Onuaku - 2015-16 Men's Basketball". GoCards.com. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ↑ "Chinanu Onuaku - Rivals.com". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Chinanu Onuaku Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Chinanu Onuaku - Scout.com". Scout.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
- 1 2 "Rockets Sign Rookie Chinanu Onuaku". NBA.com. July 20, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
- 1 2 Greer, Jeff (July 20, 2016). "Final answer: Onuaku confirms NBA draft entry". Courier-Journal.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Rockets Select Chinanu Onuaku and Zhou Qi in 2016 NBA Draft". NBA.com. June 24, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Rockets to Compete in Samsung NBA Summer League 2016". NBA.com. July 1, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Harden scores 32 points and Rockets cruise past Suns 131-115". ESPN.com. December 26, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- ↑ "2016-17 NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ↑ "Rio Grande Valley Vipers' Onuaku Suspended". NBA.com. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
- ↑ http://www.nba.com/article/2018/08/02/mavericks-get-center-chinanu-onuaku-trade-rockets
- ↑ "Mavs waive Chinanu Onuaku, acquired in trade with Rockets". ESPN.com. August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
- ↑ "TRAIL BLAZERS SIGN THREE PLAYERS". NBA.com. September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.