AFCON 2025
The Portland Fire have signed Nigeria captain Amy Okonkwo to a standard contract, adding the back-to-back AfroBasket MVP as a replacement player under the WNBA’s Season-Ending Injury Exception.
Okonkwo steps in for Sarah Ashlee Barker, who is out for the year with a season-ending ACL injury.
The WNBA side confirmed the move on Tuesday, and the forward joined her new teammates for practice at the Moda Center the same day. The signing comes at a tough stretch for Portland, who sit 13-19 and fifth in the Western Conference.
The move caps a whirlwind year for Okonkwo, who has now turned out for three WNBA franchises in 2026.
Okonkwo began the year in Dallas Wings training camp before moving to the Atlanta Dream on a developmental contract in May, making nine appearances across her two stints in the league. She scored a career-high 20 points against the Phoenix Mercury in September 2025 during an earlier spell with Dallas.
Okonkwo club move follows a dominant run with the D’Tigress, whom she led to a fifth consecutive FIBA Women’s AfroBasket title in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, picking up tournament MVP for the second edition running. She now turns her focus to Nigeria’s preparations for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup later in the year in Germany.
The forward began her collegiate career at the University of Southern California before transferring to Texas Christian University, where she earned All-Big 12 Second Team honours in 2018 and 2019.
