Chinanu Michael Onuaku (born November 1, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. In 2021β22, he led the Israeli Basketball Premier League in rebounds per game.
Onuaku is known for his use of underhand , an unorthodox shooting technique most famously used by Rick Barry, one of the most accurate free throw shooters in NBA history. Underhand free throws are very rarely used in the modern NBA as many NBA players view the technique as embarrassing to use; the technique is often pejoratively referred to as "granny style". Onuaku found success by adopting this shooting method, increasing his free throw percentage from 46.7% his freshman year of college to 72.4% his rookie year.
High school career
Onuaku attended Riverdale Baptist School where he averaged 12.4 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 5.5 blocks as a senior, leading Riverdale to a 30β9 record and the Capital Beltway conference title.
When Onuaku graduated, he was considered the 74th-best prospect by Rivals.com,
College career
Onuaku played two seasons of college basketball for the University of Louisville between 2014 and 2016. In his sophomore season, he averaged 9.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks,
earning All-ACC Defensive Team and All-ACC honorable mention honors and posting 11 double-doubles.
In May 2016, Onuaku announced he would enter the NBA draft.
Professional career
Houston Rockets (2016β2018)
On June 23, 2016, Onuaku was selected by the
Houston Rockets with the 37th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft
and later joined them for the 2016 NBA Summer League.
On July 20, 2016, he signed with the Rockets.
He made his NBA debut on December 26, 2016, coming on in the fourth quarter and recording six points and three rebounds in a 131β115 win over the Phoenix Suns. He hit a pair of free throws in the game with his underhanded free-throw action.
During his rookie season, Onuaku had multiple assignments with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets'
D-League affiliate.
On May 1, 2017, he was suspended two games without pay for pushing a game official. The incident occurred during an altercation in the final seconds of the Vipers' 122β96 loss to Raptors 905 in game 3 of the 2017 NBA D-League Finals on April 27.
On August 2, 2018, Onuaku was traded from the Rockets to the Dallas Mavericks for the rights to forward Maarty Leunen.
On September 4, 2018, Onuaku signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Greensboro Swarm (2018β2019)
On October 20, 2018, Onuaku was selected with the second overall pick in the 2018 NBA G League draft by the
Greensboro Swarm.
Wonju DB Promy (2019β2020)
On October 3, 2019, Onuaku signed with Wonju DB Promy of the Korean Basketball League to replace
Elijah Thomas.
He averaged 14.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.
Zadar (2020β2021)
On October 14, 2020, Onuaku signed with
KK Zadar in the Croatian League.
Bnei Herzliya (2021β2022)
On July 21, 2021, he signed with
Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.
On February 17, 2022, Onuaku won the Israeli Basketball State Cup after Bnei Herzliya Basket edged out Hapoel Tel Aviv 87β82. Onuaku was crowned as the game's MVP with 30 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and a 50 PIR. For the 2021β22 season, he led the league in rebounds, averaging 9.9 per game.
Dinamo Sassari (2022)
On July 20, 2022, he signed with
Dinamo Sassari of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).
Hapoel Tel Aviv (2022β2023)
On November 13, 2022, he signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.
Joventut Badalona (2023)
On July 27, 2023, Onuaku signed with Joventut Badalona of the Spanish
Liga ACB.
Goyang Sono Skygunners (2023β2024)
On November 13, 2023, Onuaku joined the Goyang Sono Skygunners of the Korean Basketball League (KBL) to replace
Jarrod Jones.
Santeros de Aguada (2024)
On March 21, 2024, Onuaku signed with the Santeros de Aguada of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional.
Second stint with the Wonju DB Promy (2024β2025)
On June 27, 2024, Onuaku signed with the Wonju DB Promy of the Korean Basketball League (KBL).
Return to Bnei Herzliya (2025βpresent)
On April 14, 2025, he signed with Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Houston
|
5 ||
1 || 10.4 ||
.714 || - ||
1.000 || 2.0 || .6 ||
.6 ||
.2 || 2.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Houston
| 1 || 0 ||
22.0 || .400 || - || - ||
4.0 ||
1.0 || .0 || .0 ||
4.0
|-
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 6 || 1 || 12.3 || .583 || - || 1.000 || 2.3 || .7 || .5 || .2 || 3.0
Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2018
| style="text-align:left;"| Houston
| 1 || 0 || 3.0 || - || - || - || 1.0 || 1.0 || 1.0 || .0 || .0
|-
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 1 || 0 || 3.0 || - || - || - || 1.0 || 1.0 || 1.0 || .0 || .0
Personal life
Onuaku is the son of Nwaneka and Christopher Onuaku, and has three older siblings: Ify,
Arinze Onuaku and Chuk. Onuaku's brother, Arinze, is also a professional basketball player.
External links
