Rueben Chinyelu

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Rueben Chinyelu

| image = Rueben Chinyelu.jpg

| caption = Chinyelu in 2023

| team = Florida Gators

| number = 9

| conference = Southeastern Conference

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|2003|9|30}}

| birth_place = Enugu Agidi, Anambra State, Nigeria

| height_m = 2.08

| weight_kg = 111

| position = Center / power forward

| high_school = NBA Academy Africa
(Saly, Senegal)

| college =

Washington State (2023–2024)
Florida (2024–present)

| career_start = 2022

| years1 = 2022

| team1 = Ferroviário da Beira

| years2 = 2023

| team2 = Stade Malien

|highlights =

NCAA champion (2025)

| medal_templates = {{MedalSport | Men's basketball}}

{{MedalCountry| {{NGR}}}}

{{MedalBronze|Cape Verde 2019|{{0}}}}

}}

Rueben Abuchi Chinyelu (born 30 September 2003) is a Nigerian basketball player who plays for the Florida Gators, and for the Nigeria national team. He previously played for the Washington State Cougars. He plays as center and is a graduate of the NBA Academy Africa.

Early life and career

Born in Enugu Agidi, a village in Anambra State,{{Cite web |title=Rueben Chinyelu - Men's Basketball |url=https://wsucougars.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/rueben-chinyelu/12650 |access-date=2023-06-18 |website=Washington State University Athletics |language=en}} Chinyelu picked up basketball in 2018 in Lagos when he joined Raptors Basketball Academy. He later joined the NBA Academy Africa in Saly, Senegal. Under the academy's agreement with the Basketball Africa League (BAL), he played in the 2022 season with Ferroviário da Beira, and in the 2023 season with Stade Malien. Chinyelu played an important role as back-up center for Stade Malien, averaging 7.9 rebounds off the bench to help the team take the third place.

At the 2022 NBA Academy Games in Atlanta, he won the championship and led the tournament in rebounding, leading to interest from American college scouts.{{Cite web |title=Rueben Chinyelu commits to Washington State basketball |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/rueben-chinyelu-commits-washington-state-basketball/story?id=93270525 |access-date=2023-06-18 |website=ABC News |language=en}}

College career

File:Rueben Chinyelu practicing at the 2025 Final Four in San Antonio.jpg in San Antonio]]

File:Rueben Chinyelu (Florida).jpg

Chinyelu was considered one of the best international prospects in the Class of 2023, and received offers from Kansas, Tennessee and Florida, and at least six other schools.

In November 2022, Chinyelu committed to play for Washington State and joined the Cougars in 2023.{{Cite web |title=WSU Signs NBA Academy's Nigerian Rueben Chinyelu – Independent Newspaper Nigeria |url=https://independent.ng/wsu-signs-nba-academys-nigerian-rueben-chinyelu/ |access-date=2023-06-18 |website=independent.ng|date=15 November 2022 }}

In April 2024, Chinyelu entered the transfer portal after one season at Washington State, and committed to Florida on 18 April 2024.{{Cite web |last=Parler |first=Denver |date=April 18, 2024 |title=Gators Sign Rueben Chinyelu |url=https://floridagators.com/news/2024/4/18/mens-basketball-gators-sign-rueben-chinyelu.aspx}}

On April 7, 2025, Chinyelu won a national championship with Florida at the 2025 NCAA Tournament. He posted 3 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block in the national title game against Houston.{{Cite web |title=Florida 65-63 Houston (Apr 7, 2025) Game Recap |url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap/_/gameId/401746082 |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=ESPN |language=en}}

National team career

Chinyelu played at the FIBA U16 African Championship in 2019, averaging 12.3 points and a tournament-leading 17.6 rebounds per game, helping his team to a bronze medal in Cape Verde.{{Cite web |title=Rueben Abuchi CHINYELU at the FIBA U16 African Championship 2019 |url=https://www.fiba.basketball/africa/u16/2019/player/Rueben-Abuchi-Chinyelu |access-date=2023-06-18 |website=FIBA.basketball |language=en}}

On 27 August 2022, Chinyelu made his senior national team debut at age 18 in the qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup, scoring 3 points and grabbing 5 rebounds against Guinea.{{Cite web |title=FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers |url=https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/african-qualifiers/player/Rueben-Abuchi-Chinyelu |access-date=2023-06-18 |website=FIBA.basketball |language=en}}