Utah Jazz guard Josh Okogie will lead a strengthened Nigeria roster, lined with NBA and NBA G League experience, into the fourth window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers in Tunisia this month.
Okogie headlines a 12-man D'Tigers squad that also includes Chimezie Metu, Chima Moneke and former NBA first-round pick Udoka Azubuike as Nigeria begin the second round of qualification for the 2027 World Cup in Qatar.
Okogie's inclusion gives D'Tigers a current NBA player for the first time in this World Cup qualifying campaign and comes almost exactly a year after his last appearance for the national team.
The 27-year-old, then with the Houston Rockets, played all four games for Nigeria at the 2025 AfroBasket in Angola, averaging a team-high 14.5 points along with four rebounds and four assists.
His best performance came against defending champions Tunisia, when he scored 33 points in an 87-66 group-stage victory and his last appearance for Nigeria came in the 91-75 quarterfinal loss to Senegal on August 20, 2025, when he finished with four points, four rebounds and three assists.
He has since moved to Utah after spending last season with the Rockets. The Jazz signed the former Minnesota Timberwolves first-round pick to a two-year, $12 million contract in July after he appeared in 78 games for Houston and shot a career-best 38.5% from 3-point range.
His Nigeria history is more extensive. Okogie represented the country at the 2019 World Cup in China, where the team secured Africa's automatic qualification place for the Tokyo Olympics, and was part of the Nigeria squad at the Games in 2021 before returning for AfroBasket last year.
His return is part of a roster overhaul from the team that completed the first round of World Cup qualifying in July.
Only four of the 12 players listed for Nigeria in the previous window have been retained by coach David Fizdale - Caleb Agada, Metu, Ike Nwamu and Stanley Okoye.
Missing from that roster are Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, Paul Dibal, Michael Eric, Martins Igbanu, Ike Iroegbu, Uche Iroegbu, Christian Mekowulu and Daniel Utomi.
Replacing them are Okogie, Jordan Ogundiran, Chima Moneke, Manny Obaseki, Michael Efevberha, Ebuka Izundu, Efe Abogidi and Azubuike.
The changes give Fizdale considerably more NBA and NBA G League experience as Nigeria enter the more demanding second round,
Moneke's return is particularly notable. The forward has not played an official senior international for Nigeria since the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers in February 2021, where he played three games during that qualifying window in Monastir, Tunisia, averaging six points and 5.3 rebounds as Nigeria completed a perfect 6-0 qualifying campaign.
His best performance came against Rwanda, when he had eight points, eight rebounds, four steals and a block in a 64-51 victory.
Moneke was subsequently named on preliminary rosters for major competitions, including the Tokyo Olympics, but did not make the final Olympic squad and has not featured in an official D'Tigers game since.
Metu is another player with extensive NBA experience. A second-round pick by the San Antonio Spurs in 2018, the 6-foot-9 forward has played for the Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns and Detroit Pistons. He also has G League experience and represented Nigeria at the 2019 World Cup and Tokyo Olympics.
Azubuike adds size and more NBA experience to the frontcourt. Born in Lagos, the 7-footer was selected 27th overall by Utah in the 2020 NBA draft after playing college basketball at Kansas. He spent three seasons with the Jazz and later played for the Phoenix Suns, while also spending time in the G League.
Nwamu is another player with extensive G League experience. The 6-foot-5 guard spent four seasons in the league and has played for Nigeria at several major tournaments, including the Tokyo Olympics.
Two of the younger additions have also come through the NBA's developmental system.
Abogidi, a 6-foot-9 Nigerian forward, played two seasons with NBA G League Ignite before joining the Rio Grande Valley Vipers system, while Obaseki played for the Oklahoma City Blue during the 2025-26 season before being acquired by the Westchester Knicks in January.
Fizdale will coach the team for a second consecutive qualifying window, with Dan Craig, Quinton Crawford, Deji Akindele and Dapo Adegbile serving as assistants.
The former Memphis Grizzlies and New York Knicks head coach took charge of D'Tigers in May.
Nigeria entered Fizdale's first competitive window in July with a 1-2 record and in danger of failing to advance from the first round. The turnaround was immediate.
D'Tigers opened the window in Luanda with an 84-81 victory over Tunisia before coming from behind to beat previously unbeaten Guinea 80-79. They then overwhelmed Rwanda 106-62 to complete a 3-0 window and secure their place in the second round.
The three victories transformed a campaign that had begun with two defeats in Nigeria's first three qualifying games.
Fizdale brings more than two decades of NBA coaching experience. He served as head coach of Memphis and New York after eight seasons as an assistant with the Miami Heat, where he was part of Erik Spoelstra's staff for the franchise's back-to-back NBA championships in 2012 and 2013.
He has also worked as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns, and spent a season in the Utah Jazz front office as associate general manager.
His staff for this window also come with a combination of considerable NBA experience of their own.
Craig spent 17 years in the Heat organization after beginning as a video intern in 2003, eventually working his way onto Spoelstra's coaching staff. He later served as associate head coach of the LA Clippers. He was also head coach of the Sioux Falls Skyforce when they won the 2016 NBA G League championship, earning G League Coach of the Year honours after a then-record 40-win regular season.
Crawford is a Portland Trail Blazers assistant who has worked for several NBA organizations. He was part of the Los Angeles Lakers coaching staff that won the 2020 NBA championship and later served as an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns.
He moved into the G League as head coach of the Stockton Kings and led them to the 2025 championship in his first season before joining Portland.
Akindele, a former Nigeria international, provides continuity from Fizdale's first qualifying window. The former Chicago State center had a long professional playing career that included the NBA Development League and stops across Europe, Asia and Latin America before moving into coaching.
Adegbile completes the five-man coaching group.
Nigeria are among 12 teams that advanced to the second round after the first three windows of African qualifying, played in November 2025, February 2026 and July 2026.
The three qualifiers from each first-round group have now been combined into two six-team groups, with results against the other advancing teams from the opening round carried forward.
Nigeria are grouped with Cameroon, South Sudan, Guinea, Tunisia and Cape Verde.
Each team will play the three countries it did not face in the opening round twice over the next two windows, giving them six additional games.
For D'Tigers, the first three come against Cameroon, South Sudan and Cape Verde in Tunisia. They face Cameroon on August 27, South Sudan on August 28 and Cape Verde on August 30 in Tunisia.
The fifth and final qualifying window will be played in February 2027. After the second round is completed, the top two teams in each group and the best third-placed team will secure Africa's five places at the 2027 World Cup in Qatar.
Nigeria final roster
Jordan Ogundiran, Ike Nwamu, Caleb Agada, Chima Moneke, Josh Okogie, Stanley Okoye, Manny Obaseki, Chimezie Metu, Michael Efevberha, Ebuka Izundu, Efe Abogidi, Udoka Azubuike.