Olivia Nelson-Ododa
Nelson-Ododa with UConn in 2020
No. 10 – Connecticut Sun
PositionPower forward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (2000-08-17) August 17, 2000
Lansing, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight173 lb (78 kg)
Career information
High schoolWinder-Barrow
(Winder, Georgia)
CollegeUConn (2018–2022)
WNBA draft2022: 2nd round, 19th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Sparks
Career history
2022Los Angeles Sparks
2023-presentConnecticut Sun
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the  United States
FIBA AmeriCup
Gold medal – first place2019 Puerto RicoTeam
FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship
Gold medal – first place2018 MexicoTeam
FIBA Under-17 World Cup
Bronze medal – third place2016 SpainTeam
Women's 3x3 basketball
Representing the  United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place2019 PeruTeam

Olivia Nelson-Ododa (born August 17, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at UConn.

High school career

Nelson-Ododa played basketball for Winder-Barrow High School in Winder, Georgia. As a sophomore, she was named Athens Banner-Herald Co-Player of the Year after averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds per game, and leading her team to the Class 6A state final. She averaged 16.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game as a junior before suffering a season-ending knee injury.[1] As a senior, she averaged 19 points, 16 rebounds, and six blocks per game, and was named Miss Georgia Basketball.[2] She was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game.[3]

Recruiting

Nelson-Ododa was rated a five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2018 class by ESPN. On November 15, 2017, she committed to playing college basketball for UConn over offers from Duke, South Carolina, Florida State, and Georgia.[4]

College career

As a freshman at UConn, Nelson-Ododa mostly came off the bench, averaging 4.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.[5] On December 22, 2019, she recorded a career-high 27 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks in a 97–53 win against Oklahoma.[6] As a sophomore, Nelson-Ododa earned Second-Team All-American Athletic Conference (AAC) honors, and averaged 10.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and an AAC-best 3.1 blocks per game.

She became the fifth player in program history with over 100 blocks in a season.[7] In her junior season, Nelson-Ododa averaged 12 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. She was named Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year and to the Second Team All-Big East.[8]

Professional career

On April 11, 2022, Nelson-Ododa was drafted in the second round, 19th overall, by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2022 WNBA draft.[9]

On January 13, 2023, Nelson-Ododa was traded to the Connecticut Sun.[10]

WNBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2022 Los Angeles 30614.5.566.000.7032.90.40.30.81.04.0
Career 1 year, 1 team 30614.5.566.000.7032.90.40.30.81.04.0

National team career

Nelson-Ododa won a bronze medal with the United States at the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Spain, where she averaged a team-high 12 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.[11]

At the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship in Mexico, she averaged 9.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, helping her team win the gold medal.[12] Nelson-Ododa was the youngest player representing the United States at the 2019 FIBA AmeriCup in Puerto Rico, where she won another gold medal.[13]

Nelson-Ododa competed for the United States in 3x3 basketball at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru, and won a gold medal.[14]

Personal life

Nelson-Ododa's father, Sebastian Ododa, played basketball for Huntington University and the Kenyan national team.[15] Her older brother, Alonzo, played professionally and was engaged to WNBA player Dearica Hamby.[16] Her younger brother, Isaiah, plays college basketball for Tennessee Tech.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "High school player of the week: Winder-Barrow's Olivia Nelson-Ododa". Athens Banner-Herald. February 27, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  2. ↑ Holcomb, Todd (March 22, 2018). "Atlanta Tipoff Club names Nelson-Ododa, Hagans as state players of year". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  3. ↑ "UConn Women's Recruits Williams, Nelson-Ododa Star In McDonald's Game". Hartford Courant. March 28, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  4. ↑ Arth, Susie (November 15, 2017). "Olivia Nelson-Ododa commits to Connecticut, sends Huskies from zero to nifty in a hurry". ESPN. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  5. ↑ Adamec, Carl (November 6, 2019). "Tall order: UConn needs Nelson-Ododa to stand out". Journal Inquirer. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  6. ↑ Feinberg, Doug (December 22, 2019). "Nelson-Ododa has 27 points, 15 rebounds as UConn women's basketball routs Oklahoma without Auriemma". The Bristol Press. Associated Press. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  7. ↑ Adamec, Carl (March 13, 2020). "Center of attention". Journal Inquirer. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  8. ↑ Adamec, Carl (July 17, 2021). "UConn's Nelson-Ododa making strides, regaining confidence". The Bulletin. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  9. ↑ "UConn Trio Selected in 2022 WNBA Draft". uconnhuskies.com. April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Sparks Acquire Guard Jasmine Thomas". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  11. ↑ Adamec, Carl (July 19, 2018). "Freshmen getting an education". Journal Inquirer. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  12. ↑ Adamec, Carl (August 8, 2018). "With gold in hand, UConn freshmen Williams, Nelson-Ododa prepare for next step". SportsNet New York. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  13. ↑ Drumwright, Steve (September 27, 2019). "Olivia Nelson-Ododa Using AmeriCup to Grow and Develop Her Game". USA Basketball. Red Line Editorial. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  14. ↑ "U.S. Pan American Games 3x3 Women's Team Golden". USA Basketball. July 29, 2019. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  15. ↑ Villa, Walter (June 28, 2016). "Olivia Nelson-Ododa hopes to go from goofy to golden in Spain". ESPN. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  16. ↑ Fuller, Jim (May 21, 2018). "WNBA's Dearica Hamby bullish on Olivia Nelson-Ododa's potential at UConn". New Haven Register. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Basketball: Winder-Barrow forward Nelson-Ododa commits to Tennessee Tech". Barrow News-Journal. May 17, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
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