14 Facts About Ademola Okulaja

Ademola Okulaja was a German professional basketball player.

Ademola Okulaja played college basketball in the United States at North Carolina and flirted briefly with the NBA before moving on to a successful career in Europe.

The son of a German mother and a Nigerian father, Ademola Okulaja was born in Nigeria but moved to Berlin with his family at the age of three.

Ademola Okulaja played college basketball at North Carolina from 1995 to 1999.

Ademola Okulaja was the first player in the history of UNC basketball who led the squad in scoring, rebounding, three-pointers made and steals.

Ademola Okulaja won the "Rookie of the Year" award with Girona and was an All-League First Team selection that year.

Ademola Okulaja had three different attempts to join the NBA; his first training camp experience was with the Philadelphia 76ers, then with the San Antonio Spurs and finally the Utah Jazz, but was unable to make an NBA roster.

In 2008, Ademola Okulaja was diagnosed with a spinal tumor and had to go into a one-year therapy.

Ademola Okulaja was an experienced member of the Germany national team and one of the key figures of the team, alongside Dirk Nowitzki and Patrick Femerling.

Ademola Okulaja played with the team at the European Championships in 1995,1997,1999 and 2001.

Ademola Okulaja competed with the German national team at the 2002 FIBA World Basketball Championship in the US, winning bronze, and in Japan at the 2006 FIBA World Basketball Championship.

Ademola Okulaja worked as analyst and commentator at Sport1, a German sports channel.

Ademola Okulaja founded Pro4Pros, a sports consulting company, and then became director of the German office of Octagon, a sports and entertainment company.

Ademola Okulaja is survived by his life partner Binita Bangura and two children.