Akinfayoshe Daniel Oturu – 5 quick facts about the son of Nigeria’s table tennis star on 2020 NBA Draft

Akinfayoshe Daniel Oturu had not been born when his father, Francis Oturu, adorned the Nigerian green and white, traveling the world to play table tennis for the Nigerian national team in the 1980s, but he grew up to see photos of his father with Nigerian legend Atanda Musa, a table tennis silver medalist in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

The 21-year-old basketball star was selected in the 2020 NBA Draft on Wednesday November 18, 2020 for the 2020/2021 season.

The NBA draft is an annual event where teams select players from American colleges and international professional leagues to join their teams.

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In the draft, teams take in turns to select eligible players. There are two rounds in the draft, and each of the 30 NBA teams has a pick in each round, meaning every year 60 players are drafted.

Here are five facts we know about Daniel Oturu.

1. Daniel was born in Brooklyn, New York to Nigerian parents Francis and Deborah Oturu. Francis is from Fadeyi in Lagos while Deborah is from Ile-Ife in Osun State.
2. Daniel’s father, Francis, was a table tennis star and he played for the Nigerian national team. In 1983, he helped the team win the U.S. Open title.
3. His father migrated to the U.S in 1990 to bolster his table tennis career, then his wife and daughter – Eunice, joined him in 1997 and they had Daniel in 1999.
4. His parents Francis and Deborah Oturu are the ministers in charge of a local branch of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles (MFM) Church in Minnesota. “My parents are very religious. They’re very prayerful people,” Oturu told Star Tribune in a 2019 interview. “They’ve always instilled in myself and my siblings life teachings and lessons to help us as we grow.”
5. His mother bought him his first roundball and encouraged him to give the game a try. He will be playing for the Los Angeles Clippers. He was originally picked by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who immediately traded him to the New York Knicks before being moved on to LA Clippers.