Milwaukee Bucks: Getting to know Jordan Nwora, the 45th overall pick

Learning more about the newest Milwaukee Bucks player, Jordan Nwora

Born in in Buffalo, New York, Nwora comes carrying a basketball pedigree developed under his father, Alexander, who had helmed the Nigerian national basketball team before former NBA head coach Mike Brown recently took over the reins. Jordan, in fact, made his debut with the senior team during the qualifiers leading up to the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Nwora’s father has been a central figure in not only Jordan’s basketball path, but his sister, Roni, as well, who plays basketball at Georgia Tech University. While that pedigree eventually helped him reach the NBA, Nwora wasn’t simply handed the reins towards a smooth runway to the top league in the world.

It was in high school where Nwora first started pushing himself towards his goal of becoming a professional basketball player and his physical transformation started to take place. As Nwora buckled down and transformed himself into a recruit of note, so to did the success he enjoyed while attending Amherst Central High School before transferring to The Park School of Buffalo.

After winning multiple titles over his time at Park, Nwora went on to a year prep school at Vermont Academy during which he was able to cement his commitment to Louisville University early on in his one-year stint. From there, Nwora was listed as the 73rd recruit in his rankings according to RSCI rankings.

With the significant amount of work he did to brighten his star, Nwora’s high school coach, Mike Battaglia, reflected back on Nwora’s development to Rachel Lenzi of the Buffalo News back in January of this year:

"“When you see so many good players, and Jordan didn’t totally dominate on a regular basis, you don’t think, ‘This guy is going to be so great,’ ” Battaglia said. “It wasn’t until after Jordan left Park and went to prep school and after a year or two in college that he really honed his craft. He worked hard at his game and he became better and more consistent. There were so many players that, at times, were playing at a higher level than Jordan. They didn’t end up at a higher level at the time it was happening.”"

And from there, Nwora took his talents down to Louisville to further his ascedndacy to the NBA.