On Monday, history was made when Nigeria women’s basketball beat Australia 75-62, giving the team its first Olympic victory since 2004.
“It feels so good. It’s been a tough couple of days,” said Nigeria’s Amy Okonwo, who scored 13 points. “We’ve stuck together and this is what it’s about. Like, you overcome adversity and you fight until the finish and you come out with the win.”
This win comes at a perfect time for Nigeria.
The last time the team was on a big stage was in the quarterfinals of the 2018 World Cup. The country went winless in the 2020 Games in Tokyo and then was embroiled in an internal struggle between the basketball federation and the government, which caused them to miss the World Cup in 2022.
But Monday’s victory helped relieve some of the pain of the past four years.
“It’s a wave of emotions. I’m so proud and excited for this group,” said Nigeria coach Rena Wakama. “I have young girls who are hungry and ready to shock the world. I’m glad we were able to do that today.”
Nigeria came to Paris as the second lowest-ranked FIBA team of the 12 teams in the tournament; their Australian opponents were third overall. The Australians also had players and a coach with WNBA experience, while Nigeria did not have any WNBA talent on the team at all.
It was viewed as a classic David vs Goliath matchup, with very few expecting Nigeria to give Australia much of a game.
But the game is played on the court, not on paper.
The Nigerians focused on defense, resulting in 15 steals while forcing 26 turnovers in total. The feisty team turned those stats into points, scoring 19 off of the turnovers.
“Were tough, were edgy. I pride the girls on being the more physical team and usually, we win that advantage. That’s our DNA. That’s who we are. We don’t back down,” said coach Wakama.
Nigeria has worked hard to get to this point. They’ve had to overcome internal struggles and disappointment on a global stage. But they endured and persevered, especially with the help of NBA Africa, which brought resources and structure to assist in talent development across the continent.
After seeing amazing African stars like Hakeem Olajuwon, Manute Bol, Dikembe Mutombo, Serge Ibaka, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the NBA recognized the hotbed of talent Africa possessed. So the league launched NBA Africa during the Pandemic with 12 teams from 12 countries. It grew so fast that in 2021, President Obama joined NBA Africa as a strategic partner.
“By investing in communities, promoting gender equality, and cultivating the love of the game of basketball, I believe that NBA Africa can make a difference for so many of Africa’s young people,” said Obama in a statement at the time.
NBA Africa is led by CEO Victor Williams, whose vision has helped the league produce immediate success.
“If we think about growing the game in Africa an important element in that is ensuring that young people who are interested in the game, and want to invest in developing their skills, they need to see a pathway where there is a future for them in playing basketball at a really high level on the continent,” said Williams.
Africa has put the world on notice in the first few days of these Olympics. South Sudan upset Puerto Rico over the weekend and then Nigeria joined them on Monday with its huge win over Australia.
Now Nigeria, a team that hadn’t won an Olympic game in 20 years, has let the world know that it’s here to stay.
