Chuma Okeke

Chuma Okeke
Born	Chukwuma Julian Okeke (1998-08-18) August 18, 1998 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2017–present
Known for	Playing for Real Madrid, Orlando Magic

Chukwuma Julian "Chuma" Okeke (; born August 18, 1998) is a professional American basketball athlete currently playing for Real Madrid in the Spanish Liga ACB and EuroLeague. Prior to his professional career, Okeke competed at the collegiate level with the Auburn Tigers. He was selected 16th overall in the 2019 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic.

High school career

Okeke attended Westlake High School located in Atlanta. During his junior year, he played a pivotal role in leading Westlake to capture the Georgia Class 6A state title, contributing 13 points in the championship game. Following his senior season, he was honored as Mr. Georgia Basketball, having averaged 24.4 points, 15 rebounds, and 2.4 steals each game. Recognized as a consensus four-star recruit, Okeke was ranked among the top 50 national prospects in his graduating class.

College career

At Auburn University, Okeke represented the Auburn Tigers. In his freshman campaign, he posted averages of 7.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest, accumulating a total of 197 rebounds—the highest rebound total by an Auburn freshman since Jeff Moore during the 1984–85 season.

During his sophomore year, Okeke started all 38 games and improved his statistics to average 12 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game. On March 29, 2019, in a Sweet 16 matchup against top-seeded North Carolina in the 2019 NCAA tournament, he suffered an ACL tear that sidelined him for the remainder of the competition. Despite this setback, Auburn advanced to its inaugural Final Four appearance in program history.

Orlando Magic (2020–2024)

Okeke was chosen as the 16th overall pick by the Orlando Magic on June 20, 2019, during the 2019 NBA draft. Although initially anticipated to be a lottery selection, concerns stemming from his ACL injury during the NCAA tournament caused him to slide to Orlando; ESPN analyst Mike Schmitz described him as the "steal of the draft."

While undergoing rehabilitation, Okeke signed a one-year deal with the Magic's G League affiliate in Lakeland, planning to commence his rookie contract in 2020 due to salary cap limitations faced by Orlando. He participated in Lakeland's training camp as a draft rights player starting October 28, 2019, but did not appear in any games.

The Magic officially signed Okeke on November 16, 2020. In a preseason contest versus the Atlanta Hawks, he scored nine points including two three-pointers. On March 26, 2021, he recorded a then career-best performance with 22 points on 60% shooting during a loss against the Portland Trail Blazers. Following the trade deadline, Okeke averaged more than 12 points per game before sustaining an ankle injury that ended his season in a matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers. On February 25, 2022, he established a new personal scoring record with 26 points in a 119–111 victory over the Houston Rockets, surpassing his previous high from the prior year.

Westchester Knicks / Philadelphia 76ers (2024–2025)

On August 1, 2024, Okeke inked an Exhibit 10 contract with the New York Knicks but was released on September 28. He rejoined the Knicks on October 2 only to be waived again on October 19. Subsequently, on October 28, he signed with the Westchester Knicks, New York’s NBA G League team. On February 6, 2025, Okeke secured a 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, returning to Westchester on February 18. He later signed a second consecutive 10-day contract with Philadelphia on March 15.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2025)

On April 3, 2025, Okeke joined the Cleveland Cavaliers roster, participating in two contests where he averaged 2.5 points, two rebounds, and one assist per game.

Real Madrid (2025–present)

Okeke made his move to European basketball on July 18, 2025, by signing with Real Madrid, competing in both the Liga ACB and EuroLeague.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Orlando | 45 || 19 || 25.2 || .417 || .348 || .750 || 4.0 || 2.2 || 1.1 || .5 || 7.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Orlando | 70 || 20 || 25.0 || .376 || .318 || .846 || 5.0 || 1.7 || 1.4 || .6 || 8.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Orlando | 27 || 8 || 19.2 || .352 || .302 || .762 || 3.6 || 1.4 || .7 || .4 || 4.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Orlando | 47 || 8 || 9.2 || .357 || .280 || .571 || 1.7 || .4 || .2 || .1 || 2.3 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 7 || 3 || 24.5 || .545 || .455 || .667 || 6.1 || 1.9 || .7 || .4 || 6.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 2 || 0 || 12.5 || .286 || .167 || — || 2.0 || 1.0 || .0 || .5 || 2.5 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 198 || 58 || 20.3 || .387 || .321 || .787 || 3.8 || 1.5 || .9 || .4 || 6.3

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"|2024 | style="text-align:left;"|Orlando | 2 || 0 || 4.9 || .667 || .500|| 1.000|| .0|| .5|| .0|| .0|| 3.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2025 | style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland | 3||0||4.3||.250||.250||—||.0||.3||.3||.0||1.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career |5||0||4.4||.429||.333||1.000||.0||.4||.2||.0||1.8

College

|- | style="text-align:left;" | 2017–18

| style="text-align:left;" | Auburn
|34||0||21.6||.458|| .391|| .673||5.8||1.1|| .7|| .7||7.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 2018–19
| style="text-align:left;" | Auburn
| 38||38||29.1||.496||.387||.722||6.8||1.9||1.8||1.2||12.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
|72||38||25.5||.481||.389||.703||6.3||1.5||1.3||1.0||9.9

Personal life

Okeke's father, Chuka Okeke, originates from Nigeria.

External links

• Profile at Auburn Tigers