AJ Davis
February 2, 2021
Nnanna Egwu
- Nationality: NIG/USA
- Date of Birth: 22/10/92
- Place of Birth: Abuja (Nigeria)
- Position: F/C
- Height (CM): 211
- Weight (KG): 113
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Illinois (2011–2015)
- NBL DEBUT: 8/10/16
- AGE AT DEBUT: 23
- LAST NBL GAME: 20/10/18
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 25
- NBL History: Cairns 2017-18 | Brisbane 2019
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Egwu and his twin sister, Nnenna, were born in Nigeria on October 22, 1992.
His mother brought him and his twin sister to Chicago, Illinois from Nigeria when they were 5 years old to join their father, after they were finally granted visas in 1998—Egwu’s father had moved to the United States in 1989.
The family moved to Chicago three months before Egwu’s sixth birthday.
Growing up in Chicago, Egwu found his niche on the basketball court.
As a eighth grader, his mother signed him up for a park district team and by his freshman year of high school, he really had a outlet.
As a junior at St.Ignatius College Prep in 2009/10, he averaged 13 points, six rebounds, and four blocks per game as he earned fourth-team All-State by the IBCA and special mention All-State by the News-Gazette.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Nnanna Egwu made his NBL debut with the Cairns Taipans at 23 years of age. He scored 14 points in his first game.
In the 2016/17 season, Egwu averaged 4.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists, helping the Taipans secure second place with a 15-13 record.
2017/18
In 2017/18, Egwu improved his contributions, averaging 5.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists, playing a key role in the Taipans’ rotation. Despite his efforts, the team finished in sixth place with an 11-17 record.
BRISBANE BULLETS
2018/19
After finishing dead last in 2018, Brisbane said goodbye to Adam Gibson (to South East Melbourne), Shaun Bruce (to Sydney), and Anthony Petrie (retired) and went on a recruiting drive that brought in Boomers sharpshooter Cameron Gliddon (via Cairns), Jason Cadee (via Sydney), Matt Hodgson (via Adelaide), Tom Jervis (via Perth), and Mika Vukona (via New Zealand). The Bullets also welcomed back Rio Olympian and former Chicago Bull Cam Bairstow, who was returning after a knee reconstruction, added Makoto Hiejima under the NBL’s Asian Player rule, making him the first Japanese player to sign with an NBL team, and added NBA veteran Alonzo Gee (via Puerto Rico) as an import.
These key signings were meant to bolster Brisbane’s roster as they prepared for a tough start to the season, with 12 of their first 15 games coming against last season’s top-four playoff teams.
Nnanna Egwu was brought in as an injury replacement for three games in January, but his time with the Bullets was limited. Despite not contributing points, Egwu made an impact defensively, grabbing 5 rebounds and blocking 2 shots in his debut against New Zealand (11 Oct 2018). However, he remained scoreless in his other appearances against Cairns (13 Oct 2018) and Perth (20 Oct 2018). Egwu’s role was primarily as a short-term replacement, and he was not retained after his stint.
Despite Egwu’s brief time with the team, Brisbane was led by Lamar Patterson (17.8 points 6.2 rebounds 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals), Cameron Gliddon (13.7 points 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists), and Cam Bairstow (11.6 points 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists). Reuben Te Rangi (9.9 points 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists) won the league’s Most Improved Player and Sixth Man of the Year awards.
Brisbane finished the regular season tied with Adelaide (14-14) but secured the fourth spot due to a higher points percentage and advanced to the playoffs where they would lose to Perth in the semi-finals (0-2).
Nnanna Egwu played three seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Cairns Taipans and the Brisbane Bullets. He averaged 4.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 59 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 26 | Brisbane | 14-14 (4) | 3 | 37.0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 |
| 2017-18 | 25 | Cairns | 11-17 (6) | 27 | 653.0 | 147 | 129 | 60 | 66 | 63 | 19 | 19 | 41 | 83 | 61 | 122 | 50% | 3 | 12 | 25% | 22 | 27 | 81% | 55% | 51% | 14 |
| 2016-17 | 24 | Cairns | 15-13 (2) | 29 | 514.5 | 141 | 106 | 23 | 42 | 64 | 12 | 16 | 33 | 73 | 58 | 105 | 55% | 2 | 8 | 25% | 23 | 29 | 79% | 59% | 56% | 14 | Totals | 59 | 1205 | 288 | 242 | 83 | 110 | 132 | 32 | 37 | 78 | 165 | 119 | 231 | 51.5% | 5 | 20 | 25.0% | 45 | 56 | 80.4% | 56% | 53% | 14 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 26 | Brisbane | 14-14 (4) | 3 | 12.3 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 |
| 2017-18 | 25 | Cairns | 11-17 (6) | 27 | 24.2 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 4.5 | 50% | 0.1 | 0.4 | 25% | 0.8 | 1.0 | 81% | 55% | 51% | 14 |
| 2016-17 | 24 | Cairns | 15-13 (2) | 29 | 17.7 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 55% | 0.1 | 0.3 | 25% | 0.8 | 1.0 | 79% | 59% | 56% | 14 | Total | 59 | 20.4 | 4.9 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 51.5% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 25.0% | 0.1 | 0.3 | 80.4% | 56% | 53% | 14 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 14 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
- Cairns (2017)
Egwu joined Cairns for the 2017 Queensland Basketball League season, where he linked with the Cairns Marlins for the remainder of the QBL season ahead of his NBL debut with the Taipans.
Nnanna Egwu joined Cairns for the 2017 Queensland Basketball League season and played in the frontcourt for the Marlins, with the 6-foot-11 center also used at power forward during his stint in Far North Queensland.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- New Zealand - Super City Rangers (2017, 2019) | Malaysia - Westports Malaysia Dragons (2018–2019) | Japan - Earthfriends Tokyo Z (2019–2021)
Egwu joined the Super City Rangers for the 2017 New Zealand NBL season, playing his first season in New Zealand, and after being named in the club’s Northern Blitz squad on 3 March 2017 he signed two days later and averaged 12.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists across 19 games.
Egwu joined the Westports Malaysia Dragons for the 2018–19 ASEAN Basketball League season in Malaysia, and he averaged 13.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.3 blocks across 26 games.
In 2019, he returned to play another season for the Super City Rangers and averaged 13.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assist across 15 games.
Egwu rejoined the Super City Rangers for the 2019 New Zealand NBL season after signing on 1 April 2019, and he parted ways with the club on 29 June 2019.
Egwu joined Earthfriends Tokyo Z on 1 August 2019 for the Japanese B.League, and he remained with the club through the 2020–21 period.
COLLEGE
Nnanna Egwu played for the Illinois Fighting Illini from 2011–12 through 2014–15, developing into one of the program’s most reliable interior defenders and finishing his career as Illinois’ all-time leader in blocked shots with 201.
As a freshman in 2011–12, he played in all 32 games and made three starts, averaging 1.9 points and 1.5 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game, with a season-high 11 points against Loyola Chicago.
He took a major step forward as a sophomore in 2012–13, starting 35 of 36 games while averaging 6.5 points and a team-leading 4.9 rebounds per game, and he ranked among the Big Ten Conference leaders in blocked shots at 1.4 per game.
Egwu’s 2012–13 season included a career-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting against Ohio State, and in the NCAA Tournament loss to Miami on March 24, 2013, he posted 12 points and 12 rebounds with seven offensive boards.
As a junior in 2013–14, he started all 35 games, averaged 6.9 points and a team-leading 6.0 rebounds, finished first in the Big Ten in offensive rebounding at 2.5 per game, and ranked second in the league in blocked shots at 2.1 per game.
That junior campaign produced 73 total blocks, which ranked second on Illinois’ single-season list, and it began with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds against Alabama State on November 8, 2013.
As a senior in 2014–15, Egwu earned Big Ten All-Defensive Team honours and finished the season averaging 6.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game, continuing to anchor Illinois’ interior defence.
He broke Illinois’ all-time blocks record on January 21, 2015 against Purdue and finished his Illini career with 201 blocked shots, with the milestone block coming on a dunk attempt by Vince Edwards.
Late in his senior season, he recorded one of his most complete games in Illinois’ win over Maryland on January 7, 2015 with 11 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks while playing a career-high 38 minutes.
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