David Okeke

David Albright Okeke (born 15 September 1998) is an Italian professional basketball player of Nigerian descent who plays for Haukar in the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild karla. In 2021, he won the Georgian Superliga championship with BC Rustavi.

David Okeke
No. 16 – Haukar
PositionSmall forward / power forward
LeagueÚrvalsdeild karla
Personal information
Born (1998-09-15) 15 September 1998
Monza, Italy
NationalityItalian
Listed height202 cm (6 ft 8 in)
Listed weight90 kg (198 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2019: undrafted
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–2016Oleggio Magic
2016–2018Auxilium Torino
2021Rustavi
2021–2023Keflavík
2023–presentHaukar
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Italy
FIBA Under-19 World Cup
Silver medal – second place2017 Egypt

Career

Born in Monza, Italy, Okeke grew up in Robbio and Novara. After playing football, he got his basketball career underway, playing at Mortara, Stella Azzurra Roma and Casale.[1] In the 2014–15 season, Okeke averaged 8.5 points a game for Borgomanero Basket Giovane in Italy’s Serie C.[2]

Climbing the ranks, he competed in the national second-tier Serie B in the 2015–16 season, tallying 4.0 points a contest for Oleggio Magic Basket.[3]

The 2016–17 season saw Okeke make his debut in Italy’s top-flight LBA after signing with Auxilium Torino, known as Fiat Torino for sponsorship reasons.[4] He averaged 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds per contest in his first Serie A season.

In the 2017–18 season, Okeke won the Italian Basketball Cup with Torino. He also made his European debut with Torino, playing in the EuroCup, where he played 12.5 minutes per game. In these minutes, he managed to average 4 points on 72% field goal shooting.[5]

In 2019, he decleared for the NBA draft.[6] He went undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft.

After almost three years without playing basketball due to health reasons (Heart), Okeke made his comeback with Georgian side BC Rustavi in January 2021.[7] In 18 games, he averaged 9.3 points and 6.8 rebounds, helping the team to the Georgian Superliga championship.

In August 2021, Okeke signed with Úrvalsdeild karla club Keflavík.[8][9] On 28 October 2021, Okeke scored a season high 31 points in a victory against Breiðablik. On 10 December 2021, he suffered an achilles injury in a game against Tindastóll. Prior to the injury he had grabbed a season high 17 rebounds in the game.[10][11] In 9 games, he averaged 19.6 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. In April 2022, it was reported that he had signed with Keflavík for the following season.[12]

In June 2023, Okeke signed with Úrvalsdeild club Haukar.[13]

National team career

Okeke was a member of Italy’s team at the 2017 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Cairo, when the team won silver. Okeke saw action in seven games during the tournament, averaging 11 points and 6.3 rebounds per outing.

References
  1. "Okeke porta Novara in serie A1 di basket: "Ora sogno di restarci" - La Stampa". Lastampa.it. 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  2. "David Albrigth Okeke - College Basketball A.D." Playbasket.it. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  3. "David Albrigth Okeke - [A. Dil. Oleggio Magic Basket @". Playbasket.it. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  4. "Torino ufficializza il giovane David Okeke". BasketUniverso (in Italian). 2016-07-25. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  5. "OKEKE, DAVID". 7DAYS EuroCup. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  6. "47 international early-entry candidates withdraw from Draft". NBA. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  7. "David Okeke torna in campo dopo 3 anni". Sportando (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  8. Valur Páll Eiríksson (3 August 2021). "Keflavík fær Ítala sem lék ekki í tæp þrjú ár vegna hjartavandamála". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  9. Davíð Eldur (3 August 2021). "David Okeke til Keflavíkur". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  10. Davíð Eldur (11 December 2021). "Hjalti um meiðsli miðherja Keflavíkur David Okeke "Þeir halda að þetta sé hásinin"". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  11. Atli Arason (10 December 2021). "Umfjöllun og viðtöl: Keflavík - Tindastóll 93-84 - Keflvíkingar lyftu sér á toppinn á ný". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  12. Davíð Eldur (29 April 2022). "David Okeke með Keflavík á næsta tímabili". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  13. Sindri Sverrisson (12 June 2023). "Okeke flytur í Ólafssal". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 12 June 2023.
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