Brooklyn Nets scout and Giants of Africa (GOA) co-founder Godwin Owinje says he has been telling his colleagues in the NBA, for years, that they undervalue African players – and now, finally, he believes he is being proven correct.
Owinje has worked in various capacities for the Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Bobcats and Philadelphia 76ers before his current role with the Nets.
However, when asked what he was proudest about in his career in the NBA, Owinje reflected on the times he stood up for African players in various boardrooms around the league.
“What would I say I was proudest of? Just being in the war room, debating with other scouts – trying to defend my continent,” Owinje told ESPN.
“Those are some of the moments that I really cherish the most – debating other scouts about African players; why they should really start thinking differently about those African kids, because Africa is coming. It’s coming gradually – it’s going to take a while, but it’s coming.”
It is no secret that the Brooklyn Nets have been maneuvering to bet big on the 2025 NBA Draft. At the time of writing, they currently have six picks.
“For us, the Nets, it’s special to us because we have a lot of draft picks, so we can’t go wrong. We definitely have to make it right, because of all the assets that we have, and the draft is a draft like no other in a long time,” Owinje said.
“Since we are in a rebuilding mode – a total rebuilding mode – we have to get this year’s draft right by drafting players that have the Nets DNA.
“That’s why this year is so special for us as college scouts [and] international scouts. We really have to scour the continent of America, continent of Africa, Europe – everywhere – to make sure we pick the right players that will help our franchise for the next 10 years. That’s why this year’s draft is so important for us. We definitely have to get it right.”
Owinje added: “Gone are those days when African kids – people talked negatively of them, [saying things like] they are too raw, they are too mechanical, they are too robotic – all those so-called terminologies they used about African players.
“The continent has come a long way in terms of eradicating those terminologies that they used to describe African kids.
“This year, Ulrich Chomche got drafted. There are a bunch of other kids that will most likely be in the draft. For the last 5-7 years, Africa has been making a name for itself in the draft process.”
Duke Blue Devils’ Khaman Maluach, Florida Gators’ Rueben Chinyelu, and Chomche came through the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal under technical director Roland Houston and associate technical director Joe Touomou – the latter of whom played with Owinje for Georgetown.
Owinje linked up with another old friend – current Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri – to found Giants of Africa in 2003, holding camps across the continent for boys and girls and giving them opportunities to further their education.
The New York Knicks’ Precious Achiuwa has been one of Giants of Africa’s biggest success stories and he has given back to his community in Port Harcourt by revamping the court of Basketball Africa League (BAL) bronze medallists Rivers Hoopers.
This – every bit as much as his scouting success – filled Owinje with pride. After all, by giving back, Achiuwa – and others who have come through GOA – are doing precisely what he and Ujiri taught them.
“That’s what we preach when we run our camp. We preach it to the kids: when you get a chance – when your platform is big enough to give back – please do it,” Owinje said.
“Precious is one of the kids that was sitting on the floor at a Giants of Africa basketball camp back in the day – not that long ago actually. Look at what he’s doing. There are a bunch of Giants of Africa alumni that are doing the same thing Precious is doing.”
He added, with emotion: “Sometimes, it makes me want to cry when I see them do these things. It makes me feel like what we started a long time ago is working. We’ve impacted a bunch of kids’ lives and now they’re doing the same thing to try to impact more kids’ lives. It’s just paid forward and it just goes on and on and on and on.”
Owinje has not been in the headlines quite as much as Ujiri, his friend from high school and junior college, but their journeys have been similar. Both played professionally in Europe and went on to be scouts.
While Owinje has not yet followed in Ujiri’s footsteps by heading up a franchise, it is an ambition which he certainly holds.
“Of course it is. I want to be at the front office,” he said when asked if it was on his agenda to advance to a similar role to Ujiri’s. “Five years from now or less than that, I would like to see myself in a managerial position [in the] front office, making decisions.”
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