Olivier Nkamhoua

Olivier Robinson Nkamhoua (born 2 May 2000) is a Finnish professional basketball player for Niners Chemnitz of the Basketball Bundesliga. He played college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers and Michigan Wolverines. Nkamhoua is also part of the Finland national team. He began playing basketball with Helsingin NMKY.

Early life
Nkamhoua was born in Helsinki to Finnish mother and Cameroonian-born father, Christian Nkamhoua, who played basketball in Finland until 2006. Nkamhoua is also of Scottish descent on his mother’s side. He was raised in Käpylä, Helsinki, until aged 17, when he moved to United States with his father to play basketball in high school. Before his departure, he had debuted in senior level with Helsingin NMKY in Finnish second tier Koripallon I-divisioona in the 2016–17 season. In the United States, he played and studied in Richard Montgomery High School and Bishop Walsh School in Maryland.

Tennessee
Nkamhoua began his college basketball career at Tennessee in 2019, where he appeared in 112 games, with 58 starts, and averaged 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds. During the 2021–22 season, he averaged 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds as a junior before suffering a season-ending left ankle injury at South Carolina in February 2022. On 19 March 2023, in a March Madness game against Duke, Nkamhoua recorded 27 points on 77% shooting on the field and grabbed five rebounds, helping Tennessee to get a 65–52 win. During the 2022–23 season, he averaged 10.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in his senior year. On 30 March 2023, Nkamhoua entered the NCAA transfer portal. In May 2023, Nkamhoua was named in the roster of NBA G League Elite Camp, a camp for future draft prospects.

Michigan
On 7 June 2023, Nkamhoua announced he would transfer to Michigan. On 21 February 2024, Michigan head coach Juwan Howard announced that Nkamhoua would miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his left wrist. During the 2023–24 season, he started 26 games for Michigan, averaging career bests in points (14.8), rebounds (7.1) and assists (2.7). He also set single-season bests for three-point field goals (27), rebounds (185) and minutes played (33.4). Throughout his collegiate career, Nkamhoua played in 138 games with 84 consecutive starts. He scored 1,117 points, grabbed 612 rebounds while adding 183 assists with 89 blocks and 52 steals.

Professional career
On 3 July 2024, Nkamhoua started his professional career after signing with Niners Chemnitz of the Basketball Bundesliga and the FIBA Champions League. Two days later, he was named in the roster of the Portland Trail Blazers for the 2024 NBA Summer League.

International career
Nkamhoua has played 20 games for Finland's U16 youth national team.

Nkamhoua has been part of Finland senior national team since 2021. He was forced to miss the EuroBasket 2022 due to his commitment to Tennessee, but next year he represented Finland at the 2023 FIBA World Cup in his first major international tournament. He also played in the 2024 FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament, averaging 9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in three games against Bahamas, Poland and Spain.