Utah Jazz guard Josh Okogie will lead a strengthened Nigeria roster, filled with NBA and NBA G League experience, into the fourth window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers in Tunisia this month, according to the announcement.
Okogie headlines a 12-man D’Tigers squad that also includes Chimezie Metu, Chima Moneke and former NBA first-round pick Udoka Azubuike. His inclusion provides Nigeria with a current NBA player for the first time in this World Cup qualifying campaign and comes almost exactly a year after his last appearance for the national team.
The 27-year-old played all four games for Nigeria at the 2025 AfroBasket in Angola, averaging a team-high 14.5 points along with four rebounds and four assists. His best performance came against defending champions Tunisia, when he scored 33 points in an 87-66 group-stage victory. His most recent outing for Nigeria was the 91-75 quarterfinal loss to Senegal on Aug. 20, 2025, when he finished with four points, four rebounds and three assists.
Okogie moved to Utah after spending last season with the Houston Rockets. The Jazz signed the former Minnesota Timberwolves first-round pick to a two-year, $12 million contract in July after he appeared in 78 games for Houston and shot a career-best 38.5 percent from 3-point range.
The return of Okogie is part of a roster overhaul from the team that completed the first round of World Cup qualifying in July. Only four of the 12 players from the previous window were retained — Caleb Agada, Chimezie Metu, Ike Nwamu and Stanley Okoye — while names missing from that earlier roster include Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, Paul Dibal, Michael Eric, Martins Igbanu, Ike Iroegbu, Uche Iroegbu, Christian Mekowulu and Daniel Utomi.
Replacements named for the second round include Jordan Ogundiran, Chima Moneke, Manny Obaseki, Michael Efevberha, Ebuka Izundu, Efe Abogidi and Udoka Azubuike. The changes give coach David Fizdale considerably more NBA and G League experience as Nigeria enter the more demanding second round. Moneke’s return is notable after not appearing in an official senior international game since the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers, where he averaged six points and 5.3 rebounds in three games.
Metu is a 2018 second-round pick who has NBA and G League experience and represented Nigeria at the 2019 World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics. Azubuike, a 7-footer born in Lagos, was selected 27th overall by Utah in the 2020 NBA draft after playing at Kansas and has NBA and G League experience. Nwamu has four seasons of G League experience and has played for Nigeria at major tournaments, including the Tokyo Olympics. Abogidi, a 6-foot-9 forward, is one of the younger additions who came through the NBA’s developmental system and played two seasons.
