Fire and Ice
Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike Are on Their Way to WNBA Stardom
It’s easy to get overlooked when playing alongside 2013 WNBA MVP Candace Parker, who has been the face of the league since she was drafted first overall in 2008 out of powerhouse Tennessee. While Nneka Ogwumike may not garner the name recognition of, say, Candace Parker, Brittney Griner or Elena Delle Donne—few do—since entering the league two seasons ago, she has undoubtedly morphed into one of its top interior players. The scary part? She may not even be the best player in her family when all is said and done.
Nneka and her younger sister, Chiney, started out as gymnasts. When they grew too tall for the sport—Nneka, 11 years old, and Chiney, 9—their mom’s coworker recommended they try basketball.
Having never played basketball before, both girls were extremely raw. Nneka persevered through the awkwardness and continued practicing with the other players. Her younger sister, however, felt too embarrassed to continue. “I ran away,” Chiney recalled. “I hid in the bathroom for the rest of that practice.”
That entire first year, Chiney would sit in the gym and observe her big sis play the game that gradually became less and less foreign to her. “When we’d go home, Nneka would say, ‘Hey, this is what we learned,’ and she’s showing me.”
Big Sis Arrives
After leading the Stanford Cardinal to four consecutive Final Four appearances, Nneka was taken by the Los Angeles Sparks with their No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft. Less than two months into her inaugural pro season, Nneka grabbed 20 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive glass, in a three-point win over the Fever. Ogwumike earned Rookie of the Year honors, as the Sparks’ winning percentage jumped from .441 before her arrival to .706, third-best in the league. She finished the season with averages of 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals on 53.5 percent shooting.
Following the season, Nneka went to Poland, where she continued to improve her game. In a league that featured 2012 WNBA MVP Tina Charles, Ogwumike led her team to a 23-1 record, while recording a league-high 18.3 points per game. Her dominant play continued throughout the postseason, culminating in a four-game Finals sweep of Charles’ squad.
During the ’12-13 campaign, her second season with the Sparks, Nneka’s scoring and rebounding increased despite a slight decrease in playing time. Most notably, her free-throw and field-goal shooting improved by 9.2 and 3.1 percent, respectively. For her efforts, Nneka made her first WNBA All-Star team and was later invited to train with Team USA this fall. In fact, Chiney was also invited, but chose not to accept in order to focus on academics and preparing for her senior season at Stanford.
Chiney’s Turn
Connecticut and Notre Dame came calling, among other schools, but Chiney decided to follow her older sister to Stanford, where the two would play together for a couple seasons. Just nine years after having been terrified to even step foot on to a basketball court, Chiney posted 11.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game as a freshman. Boasting a pair of Ogwumike sisters, the Cardinal came within one point of playing in the 2011 National Championship game.
After Nneka graduated, Chiney was left without her sister, whom she relied upon heavily.
“Chiney was hit with that reality of, ‘Ok, I’ve got to take care of myself,’” said her mother, Ify. “It was tough for her for a little while ’til she got her bearings. She lost a lot of weight, because she didn’t know how to think about food. Nneka just took care of her [while at Stanford].”
If she had a frustration or something she wanted to discuss, Chiney could no longer leave her dorm to quickly find her trusty older sister. At the same time, Nneka’s departure forced Chiney to take responsibility for herself, both on the off the court.
“Her not being around has helped me mature and that helps me mature on the court as a player,” said Chiney. “I would always think to myself, What would Nneka do? What would Nneka do in this situation?”
In Chiney’s first season without Nneka, her junior year, she averaged 22.4 points and 12.9 rebounds per game, ranking her in the top seven nationwide in each category. She also managed to record 1.7 blocks per contest. Despite her phenomenal individual contributions, Georgia upset Stanford in the 2013 Sweet 16.
A year later, Chiney looks forward to her senior season, where she hopes to bring the Cardinal a National Championship, something her older sister couldn’t accomplish. She says she’s getting stronger and has been working on her perimeter skills, such as ball handling and developing her outside shot.
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