Nnanna Egwu

Nnanna Egwu
Nnanna Egwu
Born	October 22, 1992 (age 34); Nigeria
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2011–present
Known for	Illinois Fighting Illini all-time record for career blocks (201)

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Nnanna Egwu, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 28 November 2025

Nnanna Egwu (born October 22, 1992) is an American professional basketball athlete who most recently competed for Earthfriends Tokyo Z in Japan's B.League. During his collegiate career, he represented the Illinois Fighting Illini and set the university's all-time record with 201 career blocks.

Early life and high school

Born in Nigeria alongside his twin sister Nnenna, Egwu relocated to Chicago, Illinois at the age of five to reunite with their father. The family established their home in Chicago shortly before he turned six.

Growing up in Chicago, Egwu developed a passion for basketball. By the time he was a freshman at St. Ignatius College Prep, he had become a significant contributor to the team. In his junior season (2009–10), he averaged 13 points, six rebounds, and four blocks per game, which earned him fourth-team All-State recognition. On November 10, 2010, Egwu committed to play college basketball at the University of Illinois by signing a National Letter of Intent. Rated as a four-star recruit and ranked No. 97 nationally by Rivals.com, he selected Illinois over other offers from Northwestern, Oregon State, Purdue, and Wisconsin.

During his senior year (2010–11), he improved his averages to 16 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks per game. These performances led to first-team All-State honors and recognition as Chicago Catholic League-North Division Co-Athlete of the Year.

College career

In his freshman season at Illinois (2011–12), Egwu participated in all 32 games and started three contests. He averaged 1.9 points and 1.5 rebounds per outing, with a season-best scoring effort of 11 points on November 27, 2011, versus Loyola Chicago.

As a sophomore (2012–13), Egwu was a regular starter in 35 of 36 games, posting averages of 6.5 points and team-leading 4.9 rebounds per game. He ranked fourth in the Big Ten Conference for blocks per game at 1.4 and received one of the team's Most Improved Player awards. His personal scoring high came on January 5, 2013, against Ohio State when he tallied 16 points.

During his junior year (2013–14), Egwu started every game (35 total) and averaged 6.9 points while leading the team with 6.0 rebounds per game. Defensively, he topped the team charts and was second in the Big Ten with an average of 2.1 blocks per game, compiling a total of 73 blocks—marking the second-best single-season block total in Illinois history.

In his final collegiate season (2014–15), Egwu earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team while averaging 6.5 points and 5.9 rebounds across 33 games.

College statistics

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2011–12 | style="text-align:left;"| Illinois | 32 || 3 || 9.8 || .474 || .000 || .462 || 1.5 || .2 || .2 || .6 || 1.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2012–13 | style="text-align:left;"| Illinois | 36 || 35 || 25.4 || .460 || .167 || .636 || 4.9 || .5 || .6 || 1.4 || 6.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2013–14 | style="text-align:left;"| Illinois | 35 || 35 || 29.7 || .414 || .217 || .778 || 6.0 || .4 || .3 || 2.1 || 6.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2014–15 | style="text-align:left;"| Illinois | 33 || 33 || 29.8 || .431 || .303 || .786 || 5.9 || 1.0 || .8 || 1.8 || 6.5

Orlando Magic and the D-League (2015–2016)

After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, Egwu participated with the Orlando Magic during the 2015 NBA Summer League. He secured a contract with the Magic on September 24, 2015, but was released on October 23 following five preseason appearances. Shortly thereafter, on October 31, he was picked up by the Erie BayHawks, the Magic’s affiliate in the NBA Development League.

Throughout the 2015–16 campaign with Erie, Egwu posted respectable statistics, averaging 9.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.3 blocks across 50 contests.

In July 2016, he returned to Orlando for another Summer League stint and also represented the NBA D-League Select Team at the Las Vegas Summer League, maintaining his pursuit of an NBA roster spot.

Cairns Taipans and Super City Rangers (2016–2018)

Egwu signed with the Cairns Taipans on August 26, 2016, ahead of the 2016–17 NBL season. He played a role in helping the Taipans secure second place in the regular season with a 15–13 record, although their campaign ended in a semi-final loss to the Perth Wildcats. Over all 30 games that season, he averaged 5.1 points and grabbed 3.7 rebounds per outing.

On March 3, 2017, Egwu joined the Super City Rangers to compete in the Northern Blitz tournament and officially signed with them two days later for the 2017 New Zealand NBL season. He participated in every one of their 19 games, contributing averages of 12.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game.

Egwu recommitted to the Taipans on April 28, 2017, for the following 2017–18 NBL season.

Grand Rapids Drive (2018)

On March 13, 2018, Egwu was acquired by the Grand Rapids Drive, competing in the NBA G League.

Brisbane Bullets and Westports Malaysia Dragons (2018–2019)

Egwu signed with the Brisbane Bullets on September 25, 2018, to serve as an injury replacement for Matt Hodgson and Will Magnay. However, he departed in October to fulfill a prior commitment in Malaysia by joining the Westports Malaysia Dragons.

Super City Rangers (2019)

He returned to play for the Super City Rangers on April 1, 2019, for the duration of the 2019 New Zealand NBL season. Egwu exited from the team on June 29, 2019.

Earthfriends Tokyo Z (2019–2021)

On August 1, 2019, Egwu inked a deal with Earthfriends Tokyo Z, a team competing in Japan’s B.League.

The Basketball Tournament

Egwu represented House of 'Paign—a squad composed of Illinois alumni—in The Basketball Tournament 2020. In their opening round victory over War Tampa by a score of 76–53, he contributed two points and seven rebounds.

Personal

Egwu is a son of Emmanuel and Immaculata Egwu. He has a twin sister named Nnenna who attended Purdue University, along with a younger brother and sister.

External links