Six players of Nigerian origin heard their names called across the two rounds of the 2026 NBA Draft this week at Barclays Center, making it the second-highest total for players of Nigerian descent selected in one draft class.
Only the 2020 draft class has more, with nine.
Two of those players were selected in the first round, making it only the fourth time two or more players of Nigerian descent have been taken in the first round, and the first time since 2020, when seven were taken off the board in the first round.
First to hear his name called was Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, who went 17th overall, taken by the Oklahoma City Thunder before being dealt to the Detroit Pistons, who gave up the No. 21 pick and three future second-round picks to move up and get him.

