Evelyn Akhator

Osaretin Evelyn Akhator (born 3 February 1995) is a Nigerian professional basketball forward/center for Landerneau Bretagne Basket of the Ligue Féminine de Basketball. She was drafted by the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as the 3rd overall pick in the 2017 WNBA draft.

Evelyn Akhator

No. 23 – Flammes Carolo Basketball
Position	Power forward / center
League	LFB
Personal information
Born	(1995-02-03) 3 February 1995 (age 30) Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
Nationality	Nigerian
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
College	Chipola (2013–2015) Kentucky (2015–2017)
WNBA draft	2017: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Drafted by	Dallas Wings
Playing career	2017–present
Career history
2017–2018	Dallas Wings
2017–2018	WBC Dynamo Novosibirsk
2018–2019	Besiktas
2019	CB Avenida
2019–2022	Flammes Carolo
2022–2023	Basket Landes
2023–present	Landerneau Bretagne Basket
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals AfroBasket 2017 Mali 2019 Senegal

WNBA career

Evelyn was drafted as the 3rd overall pick in the 2017 WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings. She played 15 games in her rookie season for the Dallas side^[1] where she averaged 0.9 points per game, 0.2 blocks per game, 0.1 steal per game.^[2] She was waived by the Dallas Wings on 13 May 2018.^[3]

On 13 February 2019, Akhator returned to the WNBA by signing for the Chicago Sky on a training camp deal.^[1][4]

International career

Evelyn Represents the Nigerian national basketball team. She made her first appearance for the team during the 2017 FIBA Afrobasket tournament in Mali.^[5] Evelyn averaged 15.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game during the tournament and also made the top 5 players list.^[6] Evelyn was part of the Nigerian national basketball team at the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup where she averaged 12.6 points,9 rebounds and 1.4 assists during the tournament.^[7]

Overseas career

Akhator signed with the Russian side WBC Dynamo Novosibirsk in 2017. She averaged 12.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.^[8][9]

On 22 August 2018, Akhator signed with the Turkish Besiktas basketball team.^[8][10] She averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds per game in the Turkish league, and she averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds in the Eurocup tournament, having played more than 30 minutes per game in both competitions.^[11]

Ahkator signed with the Spanish side CB Avenida on 15 May 2019.^[12][11]

In November, 2019, Ahkator signed with the French side Flammes Carolo basketball team.^[13][14][15]

Akhator signed with Basket Landes for the 2022–2023 season.^[16]

In June 2023, she signed with Landerneau Bretagne Basket.^[17]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
TO	Turnovers per game	FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
Bold	Career best	°	League leader

College

Source^[18]

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Year	Team	GP	Points	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2015–16	Kentucky	33	380	51.0%	100.0%	57.8%	9.2	0.7	1.1	1.0	11.5
2016–17	Kentucky	33	526	56.8%	0.0%	68.9%	10.8	1.0	1.4	0.9	15.9
Career		66	906	54.1%	33.3%	64.5%	10.0	0.8	1.2	0.9	13.7

WNBA regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
2017	Dallas	15	0	4.1	.250	—	.833	0.6	0.0	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.9
Career	1 year, 1 team	15	0	4.1	.250	—	.833	0.6	0.0	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.9

Source:^[19]

Awards and recognition

In the 2018 Nigerian Sports Awards, Akhator won the Best Sportwoman award and the Basketball player award.^[20]

Personal life

Akhator is from a family of three. Her parents and her older sibling reside in Nigeria.^[21] Her mother Benedicta died in a road accident.^[22]