Olivia Nelson-Ododa: 20-year-old girl with Kenyan roots joins WNBA

Michigan-based pro basketballer Olivia Nelson-Ododa has been selected by the Los Angeles Sparks to compete in the 2022 Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA)

The 20-year-old’s selection was announced on Monday by Sparks’ General Manager and Head Coach Derek Fisher, who said

“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.”

The daughter of renowned former Kenya Morans player Sebastian Ododa, Nelson-Ododa is not a new face in the game

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

She was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game during her high school senior year and was also named Miss Georgia Basketball

Standing at 6-foot-5, the center has also played for the University of Connecticut (UConn), helping lead the college team to four consecutive Final Fours.

She made the All-Big EastFirst Team Selection in 2022 and played in 133 total games for the Huskies, holding career averages of 9.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.

Nelson-Ododa was also named the Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2020-21 and has been rated five stars and one of the top players in the 2018 class by ESPN.

During the FIBA U17 World championship in 2016, she won bronze with USA and later schooped gold in 2018 at the FIBA Americas Under-18 championship.

Apart from her dad being a national pro basketballer (he played basketball for Huntington University, as well), Nelson-Ododa’s brother, Alonzo, also plays professionally and is married to WNBA player Dearica Hamby, while her younger brother, Isaiah, plays for Tennessee Tech University.