Background and career
Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike (; born July 2, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player. She was drafted by the Sparks first overall in the 2012 WNBA draft and signed an endorsement deal with Nike soon after. Ogwumike spent her first 12 seasons with the Sparks and was named WNBA MVP for the 2016 WNBA season and won the WNBA Finals the same year. She was named to The W25, the league's list of the top 25 players of its first 25 years, in 2021. Ogwumike is considered one of the greatest WNBA players of all-time.
Her name "Nneka" means "Mother is Supreme" in the Igbo language of Nigeria, where her family hails from. She is the older sister of Chiney Ogwumike, the first overall pick in the 2014 WNBA draft, who most recently played for the Sparks. She attended Cy-Fair High School in Cypress, Texas and led them to a 5A State Championship in her senior season. While at Stanford University she helped the Cardinal reach the Final Four four times. Ogwumike was elected President of the WNBA Players Association in 2016 and was re-elected to a new three-year term in 2019.
