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 for the Nigeria men's national basketball team.
No. 13 – Milwaukee Bucks | |
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Position | Small forward |
League | NBA |
Personal information | |
Born | (1998-09-09) September 9, 1998 (age 24) Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
Nationality | Nigerian / American |
Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
Career information | |
High school |
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College | Louisville (2017–2020) |
NBA draft | 2020 / Round: 2 / Pick: 45th overall |
Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks | |
Playing career | 2020–present |
Career history | |
2020–present | Milwaukee Bucks |
2021 | →Salt Lake City Stars |
2021–2022 | →Wisconsin Herd |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Nwora was born on September 9, 1998, in Buffalo, New York to a Nigerian father[5] and an American mother. His father Alexander Nwora, a basketball coach, helped Jordan in developing his basketball abilities.[6]
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.[7] 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[8] and senior[9] 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.[10]
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.[11][12][13]
During his sophomore season, Nwora became a permanent starter on the team six games into the season.[14] He averaged 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game,[15] becoming the second Most Improved Player in the NCAA and named Most Improved Player in the ACC.[16]
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.[17] 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.[18] 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.[19]
Nwora was selected with the 45th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020 NBA draft.[20] On November 24, 2020, the Bucks announced that they had signed Nwora.[21] He was assigned to the Salt Lake City Stars for the start of the NBA G League season, making his debut on February 10, 2021. Three days later, he was recalled from the Stars because of an ankle injury. Nwora was part of the Bucks team that won the 2021 NBA Finals.[22]
On December 18, 2021, Nwora scored a season-high 28 points, along with 11 rebounds, in a 90–119 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.[23]
Nwora was called up to be part of the D'Tigers for the 2019 FIBA world cup qualifier between June 28–30, 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.[24] During the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifiers in Lagos, Nwora scored 36 points against Mali to be the highest scoring player for Nigeria in history,[25] breaking Ike Diogu's record of 31 points.
Nwora scored a game-high 33 points in a loss to Germany in the preliminary round of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. He led Nigeria in scoring in the tournament after averaging 21 points per game.[26]
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 |
† | Won an NBA championship |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020–21† | Milwaukee | 30 | 2 | 9.1 | .459 | .452 | .760 | 2.0 | .2 | .5 | .2 | 5.7 |
2021–22 | Milwaukee | 62 | 13 | 19.1 | .403 | .348 | .837 | 3.6 | 1.0 | .4 | .3 | 7.9 |
Career | 92 | 15 | 15.9 | .415 | .370 | .809 | 3.1 | .7 | .4 | .3 | 7.2 |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021† | Milwaukee | 5 | 0 | 6.2 | .222 | .250 | .714 | 1.8 | .2 | .0 | .2 | 3.0 |
2022 | Milwaukee | 8 | 0 | 2.5 | .222 | .000 | .000 | .4 | .3 | .0 | .0 | .5 |
Career | 13 | 0 | 3.9 | .222 | .167 | .556 | .9 | .2 | .0 | .1 | 1.5 |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017–18 | Louisville | 28 | 0 | 12.0 | .464 | .439 | .769 | 2.2 | .4 | .6 | .1 | 5.7 |
2018–19 | Louisville | 34 | 29 | 31.9 | .446 | .374 | .765 | 7.6 | 1.3 | .9 | .4 | 17.0 |
2019–20 | Louisville | 31 | 30 | 33.1 | .440 | .402 | .813 | 7.7 | 1.3 | .7 | .3 | 18.0 |
Career | 93 | 59 | 26.3 | .445 | .394 | .785 | 6.0 | 1.0 | .8 | .2 | 13.9 |
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[27] His 3 siblings (Ronni, Caeli, and Lex) are also interested in basketball as his sister Ronni Nwora played high school basketball for The Park School of Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.[28] She currently plays for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's basketball team.[29]
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.[30][31]
Milwaukee Bucks roster | |
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