Michaela Onyenwere
No. 12 – Phoenix Mercury
PositionForward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1999-08-10) August 10, 1999
Aurora, Colorado, U.S.
NationalityAmerican/Nigerian
Listed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight178 lb (81 kg)
Career information
High schoolGrandview (Aurora, Colorado)
CollegeUCLA (2017–2021)
WNBA draft2021: 1st round, 6th overall pick
Selected by the New York Liberty
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2022New York Liberty
2021–presentSpar Girona
2023–presentPhoenix Mercury
Career highlights and awards

Michaela Nne Onyenwere (/ˌoʊnjənˈwɛdeɪ/; born August 10, 1999) is a Nigerian-American basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Uni Girona CB of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto. She played college basketball with the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference.

In high school, Onyenwere was named a McDonald's All-American in 2017. Following the 2017–18 season, Onyenwere was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.[1]

In the 2018–19 season, Onyenwere's sophomore season, she was named to the All-Pac-12 team and to the Media All-Pac-12 team, and she ranked second in the Pac-12 for offensive rebounds per game. After that season, she earned on a spot on the 2019 U.S. Pan-American Games Women's Basketball Team.[1]

In the 2019–20 season, Onyenwere was again named to the All-Pac-12 team, along with her teammate Japreece Dean.[2]

WNBA career

Onyenwere was drafted 6th overall in the 2021 WNBA draft by the New York Liberty .[3]

In her rookie season in 2021 Onyenwere was named 2021 WNBA Rookie of the Year, Onyenwere was the leading candidate for most of the season, winning every Rookie of the Month award to become just the fifth player in WNBA history to sweep that honor during a season. As expected the voting was not close, and Onyenwere fell just two votes shy of winning unanimously. Over the course of the season, Onyenwere's playing time and production decreased, Onyenwere was still the most productive player in the class by some margin. She averaged 8.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, leading all rookies in scoring and 3-pointers made (37). The last time the leading rookie scorer didn't average double figures was 2005, when Tameka Johnson put up 9.3 points per game for the Washington Mystics. The 2021 draft class was one of the weaker rookie classes in recent history.[4]

In December, 2021, she joined the Catalan team Uni Girona CB of the Spanish Liga Femenina de Baloncesto.[5][6]

Phoenix Mercury (2023-present)

On February 11, 2023 Onyenwere was traded to the Phoenix Mercury in a four-team trade involving the New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Dallas Wings, and Chicago Sky.

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

WNBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2021 New York 322922.2.401.327.8362.90.60.40.31.18.6
2022 New York 34113.7.377.300.8362.10.40.40.20.74.7
Career 2 years, 1 team 663017.8.392.319.8362.50.50.40.30.96.6

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2021 New York 109.0.000.000.0000.00.00.00.00.00.0
2022 New York 307.3.364.0001.0001.30.00.00.00.04.7
Career 2 years, 1 team 407.8.333.0001.0001.00.00.00.00.03.5

References

  1. 1 2 "Michaela Onyenwere - Women's Basketball Roster". UCLA Athletics. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  2. ↑ Nguyen, Thuc Nhi (March 3, 2020). "UCLA's Michaela Onyenwere and Japreece Dean selected All-Pac-12". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  3. ↑ Valenzuela, Sarah (15 April 2021). "Liberty select UCLA's Michaela Onyenwere No. 6 in 2021 Draft". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  4. ↑ "2021 WNBA Rookie of the Year: New York Liberty forward Michaela Onyenwere runs away with award". CBSSports.com. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  5. ↑ "Michaela Onyenwere, mejor rookie de la WNBA, se incorpora al Girona". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  6. ↑ Roura, Jordi (2022-01-11). "Michaela Onyenwere acabarà la temporada a l'Spar Girona". Diari de Girona (in Catalan). Retrieved 2022-01-14.
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