Amy Okonkwo has joined Dallas Wings on a seven-day hardship contract, a move that sees the Nigeria forward achieve her ambition of playing in the WNBA.
The deal, which will see her play alongside Paige Bueckers, comes weeks after Okonkwo starred as Nigeria won a fifth straight FIBA Women's AfroBasket title, in Rwanda.
The 6-foot-2 forward won her second consecutive AfroBasket MVP award, and she spoke after the tournament about her desire to reach the WNBA after years of club success and with D'Tigress, Nigeria's women's national basketball team.
"I still have hopes for a WNBA opportunity," she said at the post-final press conference.
"I want to play at the highest level, whenever possible. I have played EuroLeague, and this next year I will be playing EuroCup in Turkey. I'm just following where the game is taking me, trying to play at the highest level possible and playing the best that I can."
That dream is coming to fruition even quicker than she could have anticipated when she spoke in Kigali.
Okonkwo joins a shorthanded Dallas team that has been eliminated from WNBA playoff contention, signing days after the Wings announced center Li Yueru was out for the season with an ACL sprain, and that guard Arike Ogunbowale was out indefinitely with right knee tendinitis. Rookie JJ Quinerly then left Dallas' loss to Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday, departing in the fourth quarter after suffering a left leg injury.
The contract brings Okonkwo full circle, returning her to the Dallas-Fort Worth area where she made her mark in college basketball.
Okonkwo, who grew up in Fontana, California, played one season of college basketball with USC Trojans before moving to TCU Horned Frogs for three seasons, winning Big 12 Sixth Player of the Year honors in 2018. Now a three-time AfroBasket champion with Nigeria, the elite outside shooter and versatile forward is also a two-time Olympian having played at the 2020 Tokyo Games and 2024 Paris Olympics.
She joins the Wings after a strong season with Bourges in France, where she averaged 14.2 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting nearly 48% from three-point range. Earlier this year, she appeared in two WNBA preseason games on a training camp contract with Connecticut Sun, averaging 7 points and 4 rebounds.
The Wings are down to eight active players, and a team statement said she would be available for Friday's game against Seattle Storm.
