Arike Ogunbowale was the 4th name to join the Unrivaled Basketball League. Ogunbowale is an accomplished professional basketball player who has made a significant impact in the sport both in college and the WNBA. This natural-born competitor and scorer hails from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and she has quickly gained recognition for establishing herself as one of the top players of her generation due to her incredible playmaking and scoring ability.
Ogunbowale has been a star ever since she attended Divine Savior Holy Angels High School in Milwaukee, where she was a standout player, earning multiple honors, including being named the Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year. Her exceptional high school career paved the way for her to join the University of Notre Dame, where she played college basketball from 2015 to 2019. Notre Dame is where Ogunbowale became a household name, particularly during the 2018 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. She hit back-to-back game-winning shots in the Final Four, first in the semifinals against UCONN and then in the championship game against Mississippi State. These clutch performances led Notre Dame to their second National Championship and solidified Ogunbowale’s status as a legendary college basketball player with generational talent. Ogunbowale has a decorated college resume as she was named to the AP All-America First Team in 2019 and also earned the title of Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four in 2018. She finished her college career as Notre Dame’s all-time leading scorer with 2,626 points.
In the 2019 WNBA Draft, Ogunbowale was selected by the Dallas Wings with the fifth overall pick. She quickly adapted to the professional game by finishing her rookie season second in the league in scoring, averaging 19.1 points per game which earned her a spot on the WNBA All-Rookie Team. Ogunbowale has consistently been one of the top scorers in the WNBA since entering the league and in 2020, she led the WNBA in scoring, averaging 22.8 points per game, and was named to the All-WNBA First Team and she’s also been selected to 4 WNBA All-Star Games. For the current WNBA season she is averaging 22.7 ppg, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.1 assists.
She hasn’t taken her foot off the proverbial pedal as she’s continuing to score over 20. But still that wasn’t good enough for a Team USA roster spot in these recent Olympics which was a surprise to everyone and that’s why I think she will be coming to Unrivaled with a chip on her shoulder. In a 3v3 and 1v1 setting that the Unrivaled league provides is only going to illuminate her scoring ability at the highest level. There’s no reason a top scorer like her should’ve been willfully omitted from Team USA and now competitors within the WNBA and Unrivaled league are going to pay the price.
