Nigeria forward Amy Okonkwo has signed with WNBA side Portland Fire on a rest-of-season hardship contract, www.aclsports.com reports.
The D’Tigress captain returns to the WNBA after spells with the Atlanta Dream and Dallas Wings, making an impact off the bench, including scoring a career-high 20 points against the Phoenix Mercury in September 2025.
She joins Portland as a replacement player under the WNBA’s Season-Ending Injury Exception following a series of injuries to the team, including Sarah Ashlee Barker’s season-ending ACL injury.
Okonkwo first joined Dallas on a seven-day hardship contract in August 2025 before earning a rest-of-season deal after impressing during her initial spell with the Wings. She returned to the team for their 2026 training camp before moving to Atlanta on a development contract in May, making nine appearances, including one start, across her two WNBA spells.
he back-to-back AfroBasket MVP arrives in Portland after leading Nigeria to their fifth consecutive FIBA Women’s AfroBasket title in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, securing her third continental crown. She was named tournament MVP for the second successive edition after also receiving the award in 2023. She recently linked up with D’Tigress as they prepare for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
Okonkwo began her college 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.
The forward joined the Fire for practice at the Moda Center on Tuesday as Portland prepares to face the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. local time (3:00 a.m. Nigerian time on Thursday).
