Ademola Okulaja

The last team he played for were the Brose Baskets of the Basketball Bundesliga. After his playing career, he became an agent for NBA player Dennis Schröder.

Ademola Okulaja

Okulaja with the German national team
Personal information
Born	(1975-07-10)10 July 1975 Lagos, Nigeria
Died	17 May 2022 (aged 46) Berlin, Germany
Nationality	German
Listed height	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
Listed weight	107 kg (236 lb)
Career information
College	North Carolina (1995–1999)
NBA draft	1999: undrafted
Playing career	1999–2009
Position	Power forward
Career history
1999–2000	ALBA Berlin
2000–2001	Girona
2001–2002	FC Barcelona
2002–2003	Unicaja Málaga
2003–2004	Girona
2004	Benetton Treviso
2004–2005	Pamesa Valencia
2005–2006	RheinEnergie Köln
2006–2007	Khimki Moscow
2007	Etosa Alicante
2007–2009	Brose Baskets
Career highlights and awards
EuroBasket rebounding leader (2003) First-team All-ACC (1999)
Medals Representing  Germany World Championships 2002 USA Germany

A 2.06 m (6' 9") forward, Okulaja received 172 caps for the German national team, serving as a team captain for many years and winning bronze at the 2002 World Championships. He 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, Okulaja was born in Nigeria but moved to Berlin with his family at the age of three. In 1995, he graduated from John F. Kennedy School in Berlin, before enrolling at the University of North Carolina.

Okulaja played college basketball at North Carolina from 1995 to 1999. During the 1997–98 NCAA season, he was a member of new coach Bill Guthridge's successful "six starters" rotation with Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Ed Cota, Shammond Williams and Makhtar N'Diaye. In his senior season, he was named MVP of the Tar Heels basketball team and won a spot on the 1998–99 All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team. Okulaja was the first player in the history of UNC basketball who led the squad in scoring, rebounding, three-pointers made and steals.

Okulaja played professionally for a variety of Euroleague teams, including ALBA Berlin in the 1994–95 season winning the FIBA Korać Cup and again in 1999–00, and later RheinEnergie Köln (2006–07) in Germany; CB Girona (2000–01 and 2003–04), Barcelona (2001–02), Unicaja Malaga (2002–03) and Pamesa Valencia (2004–05) in Spain; and Benetton Treviso in Italy (2004). His ALBA Berlin team won the 1999–00 German national (Bundesliga) championship. He won the "Rookie of the Year" award with Girona and was an All-League First Team selection that year. In 2002, he won the award for "Most Spectacular Player" at the Spanish All-Star Game.

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, Okulaja was diagnosed with a spinal tumor and had to go into a one-year therapy. After it proved to be successful, he played one more season for the Brose Baskets.

In July 2010, he announced his retirement from professional basketball.

German national team

Okulaja was also an experienced member of the Germany national team and one of the key figures of the team, alongside Dirk Nowitzki and Patrick Femerling. He played with the team at the European Championships in 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2001. He 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.

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

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

Okulaja died on 17 May 2022 in Berlin. He is survived by his life partner Binita Bangura and two children.