Monica Okoye (オコエ 桃仁花, Okoe Monika, born 7 February 1999) is a Japanese professional basketball player for the Canberra Capitals of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She also plays for the Japanese national team.
 Okoye with the Fujitsu Red Wave in 2019 | |
| No. 99 – Canberra Capitals | |
|---|---|
| Position | Forward |
| League | WNBL |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 7 February 1999 Tokyo, Japan |
| Listed height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Myojo Gakuen (Tokyo, Japan) |
| Playing career | 2017–present |
| Career history | |
| 2017–2019 | Denso Iris |
| 2019–2022 | Fujitsu Red Wave |
| 2022–2023 | AO Eleutheria Moschato |
| 2023 | Geelong United Supercats |
| 2023–present | Canberra Capitals |
Medals | |
Early life
editOkoye was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan.[1] She attended Myojo Gakuen High School.[2]
Professional career
editOkoye debuted in the Women's Japan Basketball League in the 2017–18 season with Denso Iris. She played two seasons for Denso before joining Fujitsu Red Wave in 2019, where she played three seasons.[3]
For the 2022–23 season, Okoye joined AO Eleutheria Moschato of the Greek Women's Basketball League.[3]
Okoye moved to Australia to play for the Geelong United Supercats of the NBL1 South in the 2023 season.[4]
On 3 July 2023, Okoye signed with the Canberra Capitals of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) for the 2023–24 season.[5]
National team
editOkoye played for the Japanese national team at the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.[6] She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal.[7][8]
Personal life
editMonica's mother is Japanese and her father is Nigerian of Igbo descent.[9][10] Her older brother, Louis, plays professional baseball for the Yomiuri Giants.[11]
References
edit- ^ David, Dione (5 December 2023). "'I will fight for this team' – first WNBL Japanese national vows to bring her A game to the UC Caps". the-riotact.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ "Monica Okoye". fiba.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Monica Okoye". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ "Monica a capital gain for Canberra". geelongunitedbasketball.com.au. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ "UC CAPITALS SCORE JAPANESE NATIONAL PLAYER MONICA OKOYE". wnbl.basketball/uc-capitals. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ "Monica Okoye (Jpn)'s profile - FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2018-12-25.
- ^ "Monica OKOYE at the Tokyo 2020 Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament 2020". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
- ^ "Basketball OKOYE Monica". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
- ^ "Heisei Transformations: New definitions of what it means to be 'Japanese'". mainichi.jp. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ "Monica Okoye". Adidas. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ "オコエ桃仁花、Ａ代表入りへ「チャンスつかみたい」". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 30 May 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2021.