Emeka Okafor

Emeka Okafor

Okafor during his tenure with the Washington Wizards
Free agent
Position	Center / Power forward
Personal information
Born	(1982-09-28) September 28, 1982 (age 34) Houston, Texas
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school	Bellaire (Bellaire, Texas)
College	Connecticut (2001–2004)
NBA draft	2004 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall
Selected by the Charlotte Bobcats
Playing career	2004–present
Career history
2004–2009	Charlotte Bobcats
2009–2012	New Orleans Hornets
2012–2013	Washington Wizards
Career highlights and awards
NBA Rookie of the Year (2005) NBA All-Rookie First Team (2005) NCAA champion (2004) NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (2004) NABC Co-Player of the Year (2004) Consensus first-team All-American (2004) Third-team All-American – NABC (2003) 2× NABC Defensive Player of the Year (2003, 2004) Pete Newell Big Man Award (2004) Big East Player of the Year (2004) 2× First-team All-Big East (2003, 2004) 2× Big East Defensive Player of the Year (2003, 2004)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's Basketball 2004 Athens United States

Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi "Emeka" Okafor (born September 28, 1982) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Prior to the National Basketball Association (NBA), Okafor attended Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas and the University of Connecticut.

Okafor was born in Houston, Texas. Both of his parents are natives of Nigeria, and Emeka was the first member of his family born in the United States. His father, Pius Okafor, is a member of the Igbo ethnic group.

Okafor's family moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma when he was young because his father worked for Phillips Petroleum Company, headquartered in Bartlesville. While in Bartlesville, Okafor's father took his son to the Bartlesville YMCA to learn the game of basketball.

Okafor played at Bellaire High School with future Oklahoma State star John Lucas III. Okafor averaged 22 points, 16 rebounds and 7 blocks in his senior season. Bellaire was 26–5 in that season, losing 56–42 in the third round of the 2001 UIL state playoffs, to Willowridge High School and future Texas standout T. J. Ford. This game is particularly notable, however, because it featured five players who would go on to play in an NCAA Final Four (Bellaire had Lucas and Okafor, while Willowridge featured Ford, Oklahoma State's Ivan McFarlin and Duke's Daniel Ewing). All five of these players would eventually go on to play at least a season in the NBA.