Ezinne Kalu

Choose your hard, Ezinne picked the hardest of hard. She did this honoring her heritage and believing in her skills.

Ezinne Kalu was born on May 2, 1992, in Newark, New Jersey, USA, to Nigerian parents. Her father is from Nigeria, which enabled her to represent Nigeria internationally in basketball. She grew up in the United States and attended high school there before committing to Savannah State University, a historically Black college/university (HBCU). At Savannah State, she played college basketball and graduated with a notable career, becoming the first player in the school’s history to score over 2,000 career points. She was a key player in leading Savannah State to its first-ever Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) women’s basketball tournament title in 2015.

After college, Kalu went undrafted in the 2015 WNBA draft, which led her to pursue a professional career overseas. She has played in several European leagues, including in Portugal, Hungary, Germany, and France, consistently posting impressive stats and earning accolades such as Guard of the Year in France’s 1st Division in 2020. She is among the top scorers and defenders in the leagues she has played in, with career highs including 7 steals in a single game.

Internationally, Kalu has been a vital member and leader of the Nigerian women’s national basketball team, D’Tigress. She has helped Nigeria win multiple AfroBasket championships (2017, 2019, 2021) and was named MVP of the 2019 AfroBasket tournament. Kalu was the first woman sponsored by AFA Sports in 2019. She also played in the 2018 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021), where she led Nigeria to historic performances, including reaching the quarterfinals for the first time by an African country.

In 2024, she signed a hardship contract with the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, becoming the first athlete from a historically Black college to play in the WNBA in over 15 years.

Despite limited recognition with her top performances and choosing to represent Nigeria internationally, honoring her heritage creating bias in her career. Kalu is made her light shine everywhere enjoying her journey to WNBA.