Chinanu Onuaku

Chinanu Onuaku
No. 23 – Bnei Herzliya
Position	Power forward / Center
League	Israeli Basketball Premier League
Personal information
Born	November 1, 1996; Lanham, Maryland, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school	Riverdale Baptist; (Upper Marlboro, Maryland)
College	Louisville (2014–2016)
NBA draft	2016: 2nd round, 37th overall pick
Drafted by	Houston Rockets
Playing career	2016–present
Career history
2016–2018	Houston Rockets
2016–2018	→Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2018–2019	Greensboro Swarm
2019–2020	Wonju DB Promy
2020–2021	Zadar
2021–2022	Bnei Herzliya
2022	Dinamo Sassari
2022–2023	Hapoel Tel Aviv
2023	Joventut Badalona
2023–2024	Goyang Sono Skygunners
2024	Santeros de Aguada
2024–2025	Wonju DB Promy
2025–present	Bnei Herzliya
Career highlights
	Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP (2022); All-Israeli League First Team (2022); Israeli Basketball State Cup winner (2022); Israeli Basketball State Cup MVP (2022); Croatian League champion (2021); All-Croatian League First Team (2021); All-Croatian League All-Defensive Team (2021); Croatian Cup winner (2021); Croatian Cup MVP (2021); All-Korean League First Team (2020); Korean League All-Imports Team (2020);
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference
Men's basketball
Representing the United States
FIBA U19 World Championship

Chinanu Michael Onuaku (born November 1, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. In 2021–22, he led the Israeli Basketball Premier League in rebounds per game.

Onuaku is known for his use of underhand free throws, an unorthodox shooting technique most famously used by Rick Barry, one of the most accurate free throw shooters in NBA history. Underhand free throws are very rarely used in the modern NBA as many NBA players view the technique as embarrassing to use; the technique is often pejoratively referred to as "granny style". Onuaku found success by adopting this shooting method, increasing his free throw percentage from 46.7% his freshman year of college to 72.4% his rookie year.