KZ Okpala

Okpala was born April 28, 1999 in Orange County, California. His full name is Chikezie Okpala, but he prefers to go by "KZ" and has the nickname "Kook". He is the son of Martin and Mary Okpala, and he has two older sisters (Kiki and Chisom) and one older brother (Toby). Chisom was an All-Big West volleyball player at Long Beach State. Outside of basketball, Okpala enjoys pop culture, especially music and fashion. He hopes to one day own a record label and manage artists along with his brother. Okpala underwent a growth spurt in high school from 5-foot-11 as a freshman to 6-foot-8 as a senior. He averaged 30 points and 11 rebounds during his senior season at Esperanza High School and owns the school's single-game scoring record (46). You can follow Okpala on Twitter @kz_okpala_ or on Instagram @kzokpala. The start of Okpala's Stanford career was delayed after the 6-foot-8 forward was declared academically ineligible for the fall semester. He missed 11 games and made his debut against Kansas. He started 21 games and provided 10.0 points and 3.7 rebounds. The freshman had a season-high 23 points in the Pac-12 Tournament loss to UCLA and scored at least 20 points in three other games. The Cardinals relied on Okpala for scoring in his second season. He averaged 16.8 points to go with 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals. The forward opened the season with 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a win over Seattle. It was the first of 14 games with at least 20 points, including a 30-point effort in a win over California. He also had a streak of four 20-point games during Pac-12 play. He was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and declared for the 2019 NBA Draft after the season. Okpala was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 32nd overall pick but was soon after traded to the Miami Heat.