Nneka Ogwumike

Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike (born July 2, 1990) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player.

Quotes

 * When you hear ’12 years in’ and ‘you’ve been doing this for so long,’ and ‘40 games,’ your mind automatically goes to ‘OK, how can I achieve this the best way possible without getting hurt?
 * Sean Hurd, Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike continues to push for WNBA progress, Andscape, November 2, 2023.
 * I’m really just very grateful, to be honest. I guess it kind of gives me a new lease on what the end of my career really looks like.
 * Sean Hurd, Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike continues to push for WNBA progress, Andscape, November 2, 2023.
 * I didn’t anticipate it, to be honest. I ended up doing more than I thought I was going to do this season. It’s still a blessing and I’m very grateful to know that I’m capable. To be able to come out, both on the All-Defensive and WNBA teams, it showed that I’m doing something right. I want to make sure that I’m as much of an asset on the court for my teammates.
 * Sean Hurd, Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike continues to push for WNBA progress, Andscape, November 2, 2023.
 * I would say that I learned something new, maybe not necessarily about my skill but more about how I exert my skill – my stamina, my endurance. I learned a lot about that. That’s after a lot of great offseason work, and now to build off of that. Each offseason, I’m like, ‘OK, I did this much. What’s it going to look like?’ It’s amazing to see that there are still more changes to be made after each season. I’m in that right now and it feels really good.
 * Sean Hurd, Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike continues to push for WNBA progress, Andscape, November 2, 2023.
 * That’s what it feels like and I’m really grateful. I think I’m also thinking about myself, what I want and what I want to achieve. I think I’ve kind of hung my career very heavily on service but I’m focusing more of that service as, like, how can I serve my wants, my needs, my goals that create a greater environment and perspective for my team and my teammates.
 * Sean Hurd, Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike continues to push for WNBA progress, Andscape, November 2, 2023.
 * I want to leave this place better than how I entered it. Period, point-blank. I want the job — the fervor, the passion of having agency over your value, your worth, your change — to be in players that are recognizing that as they enter the league.
 * Sean Hurd, Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike continues to push for WNBA progress, Andscape, November 2, 2023.
 * When we (Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike) started playing basketball, we didn't quite know what it would offer. It was a whole world that we were just completely unfamiliar with.
 * Randi Richardson, Sisters Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike started off as gymnasts. Here's how they 'fell into basketball', Today, November 10, 2023.
 * There's a through line in all of us (she and her siblings), but we all kind of ended up doing our own thing, and I love it. Supporting that is really important because our parents raised us to be collaborative and be teammates instead of competitive. So we've never been a, 'Oh, Chiney did that? Oh, I'm going to do this!' We've always just been like, 'Girl, can I come along!' We just love celebrating each other and I think it's also what contributes to how we achieve what we achieve.
 * Randi Richardson, Sisters Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike started off as gymnasts. Here's how they 'fell into basketball', Today, November 10, 2023.
 * With the pandemic and wars going on, it's really making it difficult for players to decide between life and dream. It's sad that the choice is so dangerous. It's not that it wasn't before. I guess it's that with the rise of women's sports, with the investment in women's sports, you just want to see something to where that doesn't feel like it's a necessity and I think right now, it still feels like a bit of a necessity for players.
 * Randi Richardson, Sisters Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike started off as gymnasts. Here's how they 'fell into basketball', Today, November 10, 2023.
 * There’s a lot of stigmas and stereotypes that we navigate on the daily, to the point where I try my best to really tune them all out. But everyone thinks that we don’t make any money at all, people don’t know that we play 12 months out of the season, and that watching women’s basketball is not exciting. Those are all fallacies and… I think are quickly becoming dispelled.
 * Nneka Ogwumike on leveling the playing field in basketball, The Washington Post, May 17, 2023.
 * We have the want to, we have the determination and the belief but we need to turn all of that into real confidence and just having a little bit of swagger. I think that’s what we saw (Tuesday night) and we want to definitely build off of how we feel. For me, I play for intangibles so you can run as many plays as you want to, you can throw all these different schemes out but it’s not going to matter if you’re not locked in with the people that are out there.
 * John Davis, Nneka Ogwumike reaches more milestones in Sparks’ loss to Liberty, Los Angeles Daily News, 1 August, 2023.

Quotes about Nneka

 * I’m not the same caliber as Nneka so I feel funny saying this but I’m really proud of her. It takes a lot to do that and she is consistent, especially this year 92023). Her numbers are off the charts and it’s almost casual. She’ll have 15 at halftime and that’s consistent. It’s kind of not talked about enough and it’s just a thing that she does, but it is excellence and I’m proud of her. I’m not surprised though because that’s the human she is.
 * Karlie Samuelson as quoted in Nneka Ogwumike reaches more milestones in Sparks’ loss to Liberty, Los Angeles Daily News, 1 August, 2023.