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NBA PLAYOFFS

Ime Udoka, Nnamdi Vincent and Jordan Nwora are the only Nigerians in the 2nd round

Ime Udoka, Gabe Vincent and Jordan Nwora will all be in the NBA Playoff second round
Ime Udoka, Gabe Vincent and Jordan Nwora will all be in the NBA Playoff second round
A statistical report of the activities of Nigerian NBA players involved in the 2022 playoffs
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Memphis Grizzlies defeated Minnesota Timberwolves 114-106 to win the series in game six and officially end the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.

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All eight first-round ties have now been decided with eight teams advancing to the second round while the losing eight crashed out.

The first round was littered with Nigerian representation, up to 12 players and one coach with verifiable links to the country represented 10 teams in the first round, here is how they all fared.

Nigerians in the first round

This category focuses on players who are openly Nigerian having represented the country internationally and players with obvious links to the country such as names and have yet to represent any country internationally including Nigeria.

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By that description, Miami Heat guard Gabe Nnamdi Vincent, Milwaukee Bucks small forward Jordan Nwora and Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka are the only ones who made it into the second round.

Ime Udoka, Gabe Vincent and Jordan Nwora are the Nigerians who made it past the NBA Playoffs first round
Ime Udoka, Gabe Vincent and Jordan Nwora are the Nigerians who made it past the NBA Playoffs first round

While the likes of Precious Achiuwa the Toronto Raptors centre, Josh Okogie, Zeke Nnaji, Ayo Dosunmu, Onyeka Okongwu and Udoka Azubuike were eliminated with their teams.

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Nigerians who won

Gabe Vincent played all five games, starting two of those for the Miami Heat in the 4-1 series win against the Atlanta Hawks. He averaged 25.2 minutes, 8.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game on 37.8% field goal shooting.

Gabe Nnamdi Vincent
Gabe Nnamdi Vincent
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Jordan Nwora scored 24 points for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Cavaliers
Jordan Nwora scored 24 points for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Cavaliers
Ime Udoka
Ime Udoka

Nigerians who lost

Precious Achiuwa was below par in Toronto's elimination game against Philadelphia
Precious Achiuwa was below par in Toronto's elimination game against Philadelphia

Ayo Dosunmu only managed 4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in five games as the Chicago Bulls lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 4-1.

Ayo Dosunmu
Ayo Dosunmu

Onyeka Okongwu was also on the wrong end of a 4-1 result, the young centre averaged just over five points and rebounds each as the Atlanta Hawks fell to Miami Heat.

Onyeka Okongwu is finally coming good for the Atlanta Hawks
Onyeka Okongwu is finally coming good for the Atlanta Hawks

Zeke Nnaji only played two of the five games and averaged 1.5 points per game as the Denver Nuggets lost 4-1 to the Golden State Warriors.

Zeke Nnaji in action for the Denver Nuggets
Zeke Nnaji in action for the Denver Nuggets

Josh Okogie played two minutes in one of the six games for the Minnesota Timberwolves as they lost their series 4-2 to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Josh Okogie
Josh Okogie

Udoka Azubuike did not play at all as the Utah Jazz big man was injured and was not available to be part of the 4-2 series loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Udoka Azubuike was injured throughout the first round for the Denver Nuggets
Udoka Azubuike was injured throughout the first round for the Denver Nuggets

Players of Nigerian descent

Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo, two Greek internationals of Nigerian descent both advanced to the second round with the Milwaukee Bucks with a 4-1 win against the Chicago Bulls.

Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Oladipo, Nnamdi and Adebayo help Miami Heat take down Atlanta Hawks 97-94  in Game 5
Oladipo, Nnamdi and Adebayo help Miami Heat take down Atlanta Hawks 97-94 in Game 5

They will now face the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round and will have to be at the top of their game to stand any chance.

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