Ezinne Joseph Kalu Erem is one of the many women competing for Nigeria in the 2024 Olympics. Following a strong performance against Canada, she has helped the women’s basketball team make history.
Kalu was born in New Jersey, and her mother is from South Carolina. However, Kalu’s father is from Akanu Ohafia, Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria which is what allows her to compete for them. After a five-year college career at Savannah State, Ezinne Kalu entered her name in the 2015 WNBA draft. She ended up not getting selected, which forced her to take her talents professionally overseas.
Since 2015, Kalu has played for pro clubs in multiple countries. Among her stops include Portugal, Hungary, Germany and France.When she isn’t playing professionally, the 32-year-old point guard is suiting up for Nigeria in international play. Kalu has played in AfroBasket in 2017, 2019, and 2021, winning a gold medal on every occasion.While playing for Nigeria, Kalu has been a key contributor for the program. Along with leading the team to gold in 2019, she was also named MVP of AfroBasket that year. Now, she is attempting to lead the charge for Nigeria as they look to secure a medal in the Paris Games.
Over the weekend, Ezinne Kalu and Nigeria took the floor in Group Phase action. They faced off against Canada, with a chance at advancing to the knockout round on the line.Thanks to a strong performance from Kalu and others, Nigeria was able to take down Canada by a final score of 79-70. With their advancement to the quarter-finals, this group is now the first African basketball ever to advance past the Group Phase stage.
In the win over Canada, Ezinne Kalu was Nigeria’s leading scorer with 21 points. It was an efficient outing for her, converting seven of her 12 shot attempts. Along with her big scoring numbers, Kalu also tallied three rebounds, two assists and three steals.From an offensive standpoint, Kalu was been among Nigeria’s top performers. She opened the tournament by recording 18 points against France. Kalu then followed that up by posting 19 points against Australia.
Through three Group Phase games, Kalu is averaging 19.3 points per game. This currently sits at fifth-best among any woman in the Olympics.Looking ahead, Kalu and Nigeria have an extremely tough task ahead. They’ll kick off the knockout round with a matchup against Team USA.
