D’Tigress guard Ezinne Kalu has etched her name in basketball history by becoming the first African player to be named to an Olympic All-Star team.
The 32-year-old was selected for the All-Second Team following her standout performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics after leading Nigeria to her first-ever quarter-final berth.
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Kalu shared the honor with Julie Vanloo (Belgium), Satou Sabally (Germany), Valeriane Ayayi (France), and Ezi Magbegor (Australia). She was instrumental in leading Nigeria to victories over Australia and Canada in the group stage, while also topping the scoring charts in all three group games.
Beyond her All-Second Team recognition, Kalu also set a new Nigerian Olympic record by scoring 74 points (18.5 points per game) in the competition.
While Kalu narrowly missed out on the All-First Team, which included MVP A’ja Wilson (USA), Defensive Player of the Tournament Gabby Williams (France), and other star players, her achievement is a significant milestone for African basketball.
A Most Valuable Player of The Tournament awardee at the 2019 AfroBasket, Kalu has been one of Nigeria’s best and most patriotic players of the last decade. Her influence on the team has played a huge part in helping the team claim a fourth consecutive Afrobasket win.
It is Kalu’s second Olympic Games for Nigeria having featured in the 2020 edition three years ago in Tokyo.
