Former Apollo High and Arizona State standout Promise Amukamara will represent Nigeria in the Tokyo Olympics and face the U.S. in opening round women’s basketball competition. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
PHOENIX – For the second time, Arizona State graduate Promise Amukamara will represent Team Nigeria in the Summer Olympics. Amukara was the first ASU women’s basketball player to make an Olympics team when she went to Tokyo, and will do the same in Paris.
Nigeria’s National Team has gained recognition over the years for its recent accomplishments, including a near upset against Team USA in the 2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
“In the past we were just happy to make it to the tournament or play a game against USA,” Amukamara said before the Tokyo games. “We didn’t know we could go foot to foot with these teams but now we’ve gained the respect of other teams and I think we’re on people’s radars and that’s a good thing. We’re on the rise and I think that’s good for the future of Nigerian basketball.”
49 years of #TitleIX! Thankful for the opportunities it has given me, especially the ability to be surrounded by amazing women everyday. (Like Promise Amukamara… thanks for stopping by today before taking off for your Olympics journey!!) pic.twitter.com/KdQDDgZ1RA
— Charli Turner Thorne (@ASUCoachCharli) June 24, 2021
Early career
By her freshman year of high school, Amukamara was already making a name for herself both on the basketball court and the track. She still holds the school record for the fastest 100 meters and 200 meters by a freshman. She was also named the Rookie of the Year on the basketball team.
“She came in freshman year. Just to see her dribble a ball and the unbelievable speed she had was incredible,” Apollo girls basketball coach Susan Prado-Ortiz said. “As a freshman, I mean I could tell when she was going to be something.”
Amukamara continued to grow as a player. During her junior year campaign in 2010, she helped lead Apollo to its first state championship appearance in over 30 years when it lost to Shadow Mountain by 10 points. The very next year, she took Apollo back to the state championship but this time the team won it all.
“I remember in the huddle after the loss. I said, ‘Ladies, if you will give me everything you got this, this next season, and do everything you can. I promise you we’ll be back again,’” Prado-Ortiz said about the state championship loss. “Sure enough, Promise was the leader, a quiet leader, but she was the leader and we went back the following year, and we beat Shadow Mountain by 10.”
Prado-Ortiz called Amukama “a coach’s dream because she would never talk back, never complain. She would just work hard the entire time. It is beautiful to see her reap the benefits of all the hard work she’s put in.”
Due to Amukamara’s solid play, she won many awards in high school, including Arizona’s Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year in 2011 while also attracting the attention of then-ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne.
Amukamara played in all 131 games during her four years at ASU. She helped the Sun Devils to two NCAA tournaments, including a Sweet 16 appearance her senior year. She was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team twice and to the All-Pac-12 First Team once.
Amukamara credits the coaching staff at ASU for helping her grow on and off the court.
“The stuff (Turner Thorne) teaches as far as defense and just little principles of the game of basketball really helped shape the person and player I am today,” Amukamara said. “I’m always grateful for what I’ve learned here at ASU. It was a lot and I’m just grateful to learn everything.”
On to the pros
After her time at ASU, Amukamara was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury with the 36th pick in the 2015 WNBA draft. She played in two preseason games before being released and continuing her professional career overseas.
Although playing overseas has helped Amukamara develop her skills as a player, she said it is a challenge being away from family for so long.
“I think the core part of my career is just going overseas and leaving my family and playing long seasons,” Amukamara said. “I think that’s the difficult part of this whole ride but nevertheless, I’m so grateful and honored to be in the position I am.”
Along with getting to see the top athletes perform, being on the biggest stage in sports and proving herself as a player good enough to be in the WNBA, Amukamara is most looking forward to representing herself, her family and her country.