Six players of Nigerian origin were selected across the two rounds of the 2026 NBA Draft at Barclays Center, the second-highest total for players of Nigerian descent in a single draft class, according to the draft. Only the 2020 class had more, with nine. Two of the six were first-round picks, marking only the fourth time two or more players of Nigerian descent went in the first round and the first occurrence since 2020, when seven were selected in the opening round.
The first of the group taken was Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, chosen 17th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder and then traded to the Detroit Pistons, who moved up by sending the No. 21 pick and three future second-round selections. Okorie, raised in Nashua, New Hampshire to Nigerian parents, averaged 23.2 points, 3.6 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals as a freshman, led the ACC in scoring and ranked seventh nationally. He shot 46.5 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three, scored 719 points on the season (the second-most by a freshman in Stanford history) and broke the program freshman single-game scoring record three times, highlighted by a 40-point performance against Georgia Tech.
Detroit’s president of basketball operations, Trajan Langdon, expressed clear enthusiasm for the pick after the selection, and Okorie described the moment as overwhelming and vowed to keep working, saying he expected to add playmaking alongside Cade Cunningham.
St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor followed at No. 23, taken by the Atlanta Hawks. Ejiofor became St. John’s first draftee since 2015 and the program’s first first-round selection since 2012. As a senior he averaged 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.2 steals while shooting 53.6 percent from the field, sweeping Big East Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors — a trifecta last achieved at the school by Emeka Okafor in 2004.
The second round produced four additional selections of players of Nigerian origin, including Kentucky guard Otega Oweh at No. 41. Oweh was taken in Miami’s slot before being traded to Oklahoma City, where he will join a backcourt that includes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace. Oweh scored 1,255 points across two seasons at Kentucky, the most by any player in his first two seasons in program history, earned back-to-back All-SEC Second Team honors and delivered a 35-point NCAA Tournament outing against Santa Clara that featured a buzzer-beater.
