Portland Fire's Amy Okonkwo says Nigeria have set their sights on winning a medal at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, as the African champions named their 12-player roster for the tournament in Berlin.
Okonkwo arrived from Portland on Wednesday to join her teammates ahead of Nigeria's opening Group B game against South Korea on Friday, and the two-time Women's AfroBasket MVP made it clear that D'Tigress have come to Germany with ambitions beyond simply advancing from the group.
"I do not want to leave the World Cup without a medal," Okonkwo, Nigeria's captain, said in an Instagram post.
"We are not going to leave the World Cup without a medal. That is the mentality and that is what we are going to work for and fight for."
If they can accomplish that, it would take Nigeria beyond the quarterfinal barrier they have reached at each of their last two global tournaments.
D'Tigress became the first African team to reach a Women's World Cup quarterfinal in 2018 and then became the first African basketball team, men or women, to reach the last eight at the Olympics in Paris in 2024.
On the continental front, they have also tightened their grip on the continental game, winning the last five Women's AfroBasket championships. Their 78-64 victory over Mali in last year's final made them the first country to win five consecutive titles and extended their unbeaten run in the competition to 29 games.
Okonkwo, who took over from the retired Sarah Ogoke as captain, has been central to that success. She was named AfroBasket MVP in both 2023 and 2025, becoming only the fourth player to win the award twice. She scored 19 points and played all 40 minutes of last year's final.
Born and raised in the USA, Okonkwo began her international career in 2021, and said playing for Nigeria fulfilled an ambition she had carried long before she joined D'Tigress.
"Representing Nigeria has always been a big dream of mine, and when I had the opportunity to join the team in 2021, there was not gonna be a 'no' for me," she said.
"It means so much to be able to wear Nigeria across my chest. To represent my family, to represent our country, to represent myself, and trying to bring light and joy, and something fun to our country, because things are not always the best there.
"But if it can be a little shining light for them, I think that's an honour, and I'm really thankful for the opportunity."
Coach Rena Wakama's final World Cup roster features much of the core of the team that made history in Paris, along with players getting their first opportunity on the global stage.
Okonkwo is joined by Ezinne Kalu, Promise Amukamara, Elizabeth Balogun, Murjanatu Musa, Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah, Rita Igbokwe, Victoria Macaulay, Nicole Enabosi, Jordan Obi, Shay Ijiwoye and Grace Efosa-Aguebor.
Kalu and Amukamara are the only players on the roster with previous World Cup experience. Both were members of the 2018 team that reached the quarterfinals in Spain, while the other 10 players will make their World Cup debuts in Berlin although nine of the 12 have already played Olympic basketball.
Of that number, five comprising Kalu, Amukamara, Okonkwo, Balogun and Kunaiyi-Akpanah, represented Nigeria at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics. Macaulay played at the Tokyo Games, while Musa, Enabosi and Igbokwe made their Olympic debuts in Paris.
That leaves Jordan Obi as the only player on the roster without previous World Cup, Olympic or Women's AfroBasket experience. The other newbie, Efosa-Aguebor will also make her World Cup debut but was part of Nigeria's 2025 AfroBasket campaign.
Okonkwo said integrating the younger players has been made easier by the culture already established within D'Tigress
"I think that we already pretty much have an established culture," she said. "Just kind of putting our arms around them and showing them what D'Tigress basketball is, what Nigeria basketball is, and just have them follow the way.
"We lead by example, whether that's vocally or by action, and just let them know that they're loved and that they're part of this sisterhood now, and so they can just be themselves, and we'll welcome them as they are."
The makeup of the roster gives Wakama continuity from the Paris team while also introducing players who emerged during the buildup to Berlin.
Nigeria enter the World Cup at No. 8 in the official FIBA world rankings, although D'Tigress are No. 10 in FIBA's latest World Cup Smart Power Rankings released on Wednesday ahead of the tournament.
