German basketball hero Okulaja died: Dirk Nowitzki won bronze at the World Cup

Created: 05/17/2022, 22:16

By: Christoph Klaucke

German basketball legend Ademola Okulaja is dead. The cause of death is unknown.

The former international won World Cup bronze with Dirk Nowitzki.

Munich/Berlin – German basketball mourns the loss of one of its greats: long-time national team captain Ademola Okulaja died in Berlin at the age of 46.

This was announced by the German Basketball Federation (DBB) on Tuesday evening.

There is no information on the cause of death so far.

Ademola Okulaja died: German basketball legend won World Cup bronze with Dirk Nowitzki

"We are devastated and cannot believe Ademola's death.

Our thoughts are now with his family, who we wish a lot of strength," said DBB President Ingo Weiss.

“Ademola was a great player as well as a human being.

Personally, I've lost a great basketball friend and will miss him dearly."

Okulaja, called "The Warrior" (the fighter), was one of the most influential faces in German basketball and the emotional leader of the national team for years.

The native Nigerian made his debut in the jersey with the eagle in May 1995 in Weert, the Netherlands.

His greatest success was winning the bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships in the USA alongside superstar Dirk Nowitzki, whose health was a recent cause for concern.

Ademola Okulaja: Death shakes German basketball

In all, Okulaja, who recovered from cancer diagnosed in 2008, won 172 international matches and captained the team for several years.

September marks the 20th anniversary of the Indianapolis bronze coup.

Okulaja's death will then overshadow the fond memories of the coup.

In the Bundesliga, Okulaja played for Alba Berlin, RheinEnergie Köln and Brose Baskets Bamberg (now Brose Bamberg).

The power forward, who after four years at US college was also active at numerous top European clubs such as FC Barcelona, ​​won the Korac Cup (1995) and the championship (2000) with the Berliners.

Ademola Okulaja: FC Bayern is also mourning - "Rest in peace, warrior!"

“We will always fondly remember the struggling and never giving up Ademola who always left everything on the field.

May he rest in peace," Weiss said.

"Much too early... Take care up there!" Brose Bamberg tweeted in response to the bad news.

FC Bayern Munich also mourned: "Rest in peace, warrior!"

Ademola Okulaja died: basketball hero threatened paralysis due to tumor

After persistent back problems, Okulaja had missed the Olympic qualifying tournament in Athens and Beijing 2008.

A little later it turned out that a tumor had caused a fracture of the seventh thoracic vertebra - paralysis threatened.

"I was very lucky in my misfortune," said the winger later, he did not return to the pitch.

Bamberg separated from Okulaja in the summer of 2009 despite the current contract. A year later he announced the end of his career and later looked after NBA professional Dennis Schröder as manager, among others.

Okulaja, son of a German father and a Nigerian father, played his last international match in September 2007.

Okulaja scored 1794 points in the national jersey and played at six European Championships.