Jordan Nwora

Jordan Ifeanyi Nwora (born September 9, 1998) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals.[1][2][3][4] He plays internationally with the Nigeria men's national basketball team.

Jordan Nwora
Nwora with Louisville in 2019
No. 13 – Milwaukee Bucks
PositionSmall forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1998-09-09) September 9, 1998
Buffalo, New York
NationalityNigerian / American
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeLouisville (2017–2020)
NBA draft2020 / Round: 2 / Pick: 45th overall
Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–presentMilwaukee Bucks
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life

Nwora was born on September 9, 1998, in Buffalo, New York to a black Nigerian father and a white American mother. His father Alexander Nwora, a basketball coach, helped Jordan in developing his basketball abilities.[5]

High school career

Nwora started playing basketball at Amherst Central High School in the 2013–2014 season, before transferring to The Park School of Buffalo for two seasons.[6] At The Park School he shot 42 percent from three-point range leading the Pioneers to the New York State Federation Class B championship, averaging 21.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.4 steals, and 1.4 assists. His second season at The Park School saw him raise all of his season averages, turning in 23.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 1.8 assists. He earned First Team All-Centercourt honors in both his junior and senior seasons playing at The Park School. Nwora continued his prep career for one more season, where he scored over 500 points at Vermont Academy, averaging 18.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in the 2016–2017 season.[7]

College career

Nwora joined the Louisville Cardinals in 2018. In his freshman season, he averaged 5.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.[8][9][10]

During his sophomore season, Nwora became a permanent starter on the team six games into the season.[11] He averaged 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game,[12] becoming the second Most Improved Player in the NCAA, and named Most Improved Player in the ACC.[13]

He was named the preseason ACC player of the year. On January 29, 2020, Nwora scored a career-high 37 points and added nine rebounds in a 86–69 win against Boston College.[14] At the conclusion of the regular season, Nwora was named to the First Team All-ACC, finishing second in the player of the year voting to Tre Jones.[15] As a junior, Nwora averaged 18 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting 44% from the field. Following the season, he declared for the 2020 NBA draft.[16]

Professional career

Milwaukee Bucks (2020–present)

Nwora was selected with the 45th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020 NBA draft.[17] On November 24, 2020, the Milwaukee Bucks announced that they had signed Nwora.[18]

National team career

Nwora was called up to be part of the D'Tigers for the 2019 FIBA world cup qualifier between June 28–30th 2018, by his father Alexander Nwora who is the head coach of the team. In the tournament he averaged 21.7 points, 8 rebounds and 2.7 assists.[19] During the 2019 FIBA Worldcup qualifiers in Lagos, Nwora scored 36 points against Mali to be the highest scoring player for Nigeria in history,[20] breaking Ike Diogu's record of 31 points.

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

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Louisville 28012.0.464.439.7692.2.4.6.15.7
2018–19 Louisville 342931.9.446.374.7657.61.3.9.417.0
2019–20 Louisville 313033.1.440.402.8137.71.3.7.318.0
Career 935926.3.445.394.7856.01.0.8.213.9

Personal life

Jordan Nwora is the first son of Amy Nwora, an American and Alexander Nwora the Erie Community College and Nigerian National Basketball Team Head Coach[21] His 3 siblings (Ronni, Caeli, and Alexis) are also interested in Basketball as his sister Ronni Nwora played high school Basketball for The Park School of Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.[22] She currently plays for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball team.[23]

During the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifier in Lagos, Jordan and his father Alexander became the first Nigerian Son and Father to represent a Nigerian national team side at the same time.[24][25]

References
  1. http://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2019/african-qualifiers/news/air-jordan-nwora-came-saw-and-conquered-nigeria
  2. https://www.completesportsnigeria.com/jordan-nwora-why-i-chose-nigeria-over-usa-in-basketball/
  3. https://gocards.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=7227
  4. https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/louisville/2018/07/10/jordan-nwora-more-than-just-shooter-nigerian-team/771083002/
  5. https://newtelegraphonline.com/2018/07/playing-for-nigeria-my-decision-not-dads-nwora-basketball-star/
  6. https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Jordan-Nwora/Summary/76982#HighSchool
  7. https://gocards.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=7227
  8. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/jordan-nwora-1.html
  9. http://stats.washingtonpost.com/cbk/players.asp?id=142102
  10. https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/louisville/2018/07/10/jordan-nwora-more-than-just-shooter-nigerian-team/771083002/
  11. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/louisville/2019-starters.html
  12. http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4277883/jordan-nwora
  13. http://www.sportsviewamerica.com/2019/03/12/college-basketball-louisvilles-jordan-nwora-named-acc-most-improved-player-all-acc/
  14. "Nwora scores 37, leads No. 6 Louisville past BC 86–69". ESPN. Associated Press. January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  15. "2020 ACC Men's Basketball Award Winners Announced". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  16. "Louisville's Jordan Nwora enters NBA draft after All-America season". ESPN. Associated Press. April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  17. "Nwora was selected by the Bucks with the 45th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft". cbssports.com. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  18. "Milwaukee Bucks Sign Jordan Nwora". nba.com. November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  19. http://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2019/african-qualifiers/player/Jordan-Nwora
  20. http://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2019/african-qualifiers/news/air-jordan-nwora-came-saw-and-conquered-nigeria
  21. http://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2019/african-qualifiers/news/alex-and-jordan-nwora-a-new-fathersoncoachplayer-relationship-in-african-basketball
  22. https://www.ncsasports.org/womens-basketball-recruiting/new-york/snyder/the-park-school-of-buffalo/ronni-nwora
  23. "Ronni Nwora". ramblinwreck.com. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  24. http://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2019/african-qualifiers/news/alex-and-jordan-nwora-a-new-fathersoncoachplayer-relationship-in-african-basketball
  25. "D'Tigers Coach Nwora Names Son, 11 Others In Squad For FIBA World Cup Qualifiers - Complete Sports Nigeria". 28 June 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.