Teenage Kenyan Basketballer Drafted Into Women’s NBA

Olivia Nelson-Ododa, a Kenyan basketball player  has been drawn to the Los Angeles Sparks team for the 2022 Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

The former Kenya Morans player Sebastian Ododa’s daughter was picked 19th overall in the alternate round of the WNBA draft on Monday by the L.A. Sparks.

The youngster was hailed by Sparks’ General Manager and Head Coach Derek Fisher after she was chosen.

“Olivia Nelson-Ododa was a contributor on both ends of the floor for a UConn program that went to four consecutive Final Fours in her tenure,” Fisher said.

“We’re excited to see how her size, length, rebounding, and passing ability can translate at the next level.”

Olivia is formerly following in the steps of his father Sebastian Ododa represented Kenya during the 1987 All African Games in Nairobi.

The 6- bottom-5 forward/ centre equaled 9.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists for UConn this once season.

She led the Huskies with a59.5 chance firing clip from the field and was a 2022 All-Big East First Team selection.

The 20-year-old forward also equaled1.7 blocks per game in 2021-22.

Olivia, who’ll turn 22 on August 17, was named the Big EastCo-Defensive Player of the Time in 2020-21 and will look to establish herself in the WNBA with her prowess on that end of the bottom.

She has played basketball for Winder-Barrow High School in Georgia, where she was named Athens Banner-HeraldCo-Player of the Time after comprising 17 points and 10 rebounds per game.

She was named to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game during her high academy elderly time and was also named Miss Georgia Basketball

During the FIBA U17 World crown in 2016, she won citation with the USA and latterly dipped gold in 2018 at the FIBA Americas Under-18 crown.