Atlanta Hawks’ star, Onyeka Okongwu came into the spotlight of USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA) in a controversial manner, after an opponent threw a ball into his face during a pulsating game.
Sports247 gathered that the assault on Okongwu came from Orlando Magic guard, Desmond Bane, who was subsequently ejected in the second half of the encounter, which his team lost to The Hawks on Tuesday night.
Read Also: NNL Replaces Lobi Stars vs City FC Opener with Basira FC vs Mighty Jets Over Unsatisfactory Stadium Condition
Bane was sent off by the match officials because he hurled a ball toward Okongwu’s head, after chasing down on a fast break in the third quarter of the game at State Farm Arena.
He then fouled the Nigerian forward on the way up, as he grabbed Okongwu’s arm and pulled him down to the court, then snatched the ball with his free hand and threw it at the player who was struggling to get up.
That sparked a chaotic scuffle under the rim and, though officials quickly got it under control, Bane was ejected from the game with a flagrant offence as well as a technical foul.
He was found wanting on a flagrant offence for his initial foul on Okongwu, and then slammed with a technical for the ball throw, which came while The Magic were down by 14 points, and The Hawks eventually cruised to a 127-112 victory.
Sports247 gathered further that Onyeka, who will clock 25 on December 11th, was born in Los Angeles, USA and raised in a town named Chino, where he was educated in the community’s high school.
He previously wore jersey number 21 in honour of his older brother and mentor, Nnamdi, who died in 2014 after suffering a head injury during a skateboarding accident.
On his arrival at Atlanta Hawks, Onyeka found out that number 21 had been retired in honour of one of their late stars, so he shifted to 17, in memory of the age at which Nnamdi died.
Onyeka’s mother is a professional nurse, while his dad died in 2021
 in a controversial){kind=link}