From Spain to Sactown: Chima Moneke is a Sacramento King
Moneke discusses the latest milestone in his prolific rise up the basketball world.
The first time I interviewed Chima Moneke, was back in August 2020.
He was fresh off a tumultuous season that included a deal with the South East Melbourne Phoenix that ultimately fell through, a dysfunctional three-game stint with French Pro B side Rouen Metropole that would result in him getting cut, and a productive final stretch with rival side Quimper. Adversity aside, it became a productive season for Moneke that would help him build his career, but it also paints a humble backdrop to juxtapose the lofty ambitions he would insist on discussing at the time.
Specifically, Moneke identified two goals: to play for the Nigerian national team, and to make the NBA.
It took one year to tick off the first goal on his list. Moneke was chosen to play for D’Tigers as part of their Olympic warm up schedule, even featuring in a win against Team USA. Once again, we had a chat, and at the end of the call he concluded with “I’ll speak to you again this time next year”.
Lo and behold, here we are, a year later, almost to the day, to discuss the latest tick off his list and the latest in a flurry of Australians to make the jump to the NBA.
“It still kind of doesn’t feel real,” Moneke shared with The Pick and Roll. “But at the same time I’ve been preparing for it, working for it, manifesting, visualising, talking about it for such a long time that now that it’s here, I’m ready. I don’t plan on letting this opportunity go.”
Part of that work involved an award winning season with Spanish ACB side Manresa. A competitive step up from his season prior in the French Pro A with Orléans, questions as always would circulate regarding how Moneke’s undersized and unorthodox game would translate to a higher level of play. The team would start off somewhat slowly, going 5-4 over their first 9 games, and Moneke struggled to find his way early on under head coach Pedro Martinez.
“I love Pedro, but not everyone can play for him. He’s tough to play for and you have to buy in. The first two months, I’m honest, I didn’t know if I could do it, but we had a good conversation and we held each other accountable and I don’t know if there’s another coach that could help us do what we’re doing right now,” Moneke said in an interview back in January.
As time went on, the group would find their feet, going on a strong run of play and finishing the season with the 7th best record of the 18 deep Liga ACB, making the quarter final of the ACB and reaching the final of the Basketball Champions League.
Hand in hand with the uptick in results was Moneke’s form. Despite facing powerhouses like Real Madrid and Barcelona for the first time, and facing highly esteemed European big men like Nikola Mirotić and Guerschon Yabusele in the process, Moneke’s production continued to skyrocket to new heights.
“It was a perfect season. It was perfect because it was so difficult at the start, I didn’t think I’d be able to finish off the season there with coach [Pedro Martinez], but obviously things came together very smoothly and our team was just perfectly built with the type of characters that we had, the people that we were, it was good to be around those guys and you could see that we had fun when we played and it just helped. I was just happy all the time, and we achieved some really amazing things.”
Across 36 ACB appearances, Moneke averaged 14.5 points on 52.1% from the field, 8.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.5 blocks per game across 24 minutes a contest. His performance earned him the title of Most Valuable Player for the 2021-22 Basketball Champions League Season.
Whilst Moneke certainly did everything in his power to boost his profile and maximise his chances of an NBA deal this offseason with his standout play, a degree of good fortune never hurts the process, and the appointment of Nigerian head coach Mike Brown was certainly serendipidous.
“The day of my Champions League Final against Tenerife, I woke up to a missed call from Mike Brown. I called him back and he told me he’d be the next head coach of the Kings, and that I was the first name that he thought of for the type of play style he’d want on the Kings. Honestly, I didn’t really take him seriously because anything with the NBA, you don’t want to get your hopes up, but we stayed in touch and he kept talking to my agents.”
Things appeared to be stacking further in his favour as Brown would continue to fill out his coaching staff with other team Nigeria staffers, appointing Nigerian national team assistant coaches Jordi Fernandez and Luke Loucks to the same roles next to him in Sacramento.
“It became even more serious when I found out that Jordi Fernandez was going to be there. He’s the guy that convinced me to go to Manresa. He believed in me the whole time, he said I had a bright future and said our paths would cross again, so when he went there that’s when I started taking it very seriously. At that point it was like okay, Sacramento is a place I’ll get a chance to play and prove that I’m an NBA player.”
Alongside a coaching staff that decidedly mirrors that of the Nigerian squad, Moneke is also joined by fellow D’Tiger players KZ Okpala and Chimezie Metu.
When asked what the Kings envision his role to be at the NBA level, Moneke said that Brown simply asks for him to “be himself” - something that’s never been a challenge, whether off the court or on it. His big personality and big energy are a signature to his basketball identity, and have made him a fan favourite at every stop. They’ll also help him earn minutes as the Kings’ upcoming season progresses.
“Being myself is the most important thing - not letting go of my edge, my toughness, playing defence and helping people be better, and just keeping things simple for me. If I do all those things I’ll be able to crack the rotation and make an impact in this league because there’s several guys in the NBA that are playing in a role that I know I can do.”
On the court, Moneke benefits from being a star in his role - a quality that has seen so many other Australians and otherwise-NBL linked players crack the league over recent years. Despite being Manresa’s top scorer, Moneke did not require many plays run through him, instead using his world-class cutting and rebounding to create opportunistic scoring chances for himself, whilst impacting the game down the other end of the court.
“For any franchise, you need a player like me - someone who can sacrifice, someone who can make an impact and get points without needing the ball. When you’ve got two stars, you need guys that can buy into a role and help the team and make things easier, and I can do that in my sleep. Games in Spain where I didn’t shoot the ball well, I know I prided myself on having 10 rebounds, or 3 steals, or 3 blocks, or 4 assists or playing great defence. I know I can do that, and doing that on a team like that, you get your recognition. Do it in the NBA, you get even more recognition. I’m excited for it.”
While it will be the first time in a while Moneke will have had to build his minutes up from zero, he knows that comes with the territory. He’s confident for whenever his name does get called, and he’s looking forward to soaking in the NBA environment and getting better while he awaits his chance.
“I just want to be a part of this NBA fraternity and stay,” Moneke said.
“I have to earn everything that I get, but I know that I will earn it and I’ll take advantage of being in the NBA by being myself every day, coming in with energy, and even when I’m on the bench I’ll be a great fucking teammate and working every day until I get my turn.
“The younger version of me was a little bit too out of control, just trying to prove people wrong. Now it’s like I let people say whatever they want, and I know that there’ll be people saying stuff like I’m not good enough to play in the NBA and stuff like that, but I can sleep easy at night because I know how much I believe in myself and how hard I will work to get even better.”
When you’ve predicted your own success this many times, you build a level of self-assurance that’s almost second nature. Watching Moneke elevate his game beyond its current heights as he seizes his NBA opportunity, remains as captivating an activity as ever. If the latest (off the record) prognostication Moneke left me with this time regarding his future is anything to go by, the conversation we’ll be having in another year or two regarding his career, could be even more inspiring.
As a Nigerian that moved to Australia, then globetrotted multiple other continents to pursue his dreams, Moneke came full circle to represent his African heritage on the FIBA stage. In a similar fashion, the seeds of Moneke’s NBA aspirations were planted at UC Davis, based in California, where he once starred for the Aggies as a college player. Now, he returns to that same state to fulfill those dreams as a Sacramento King.
All roads have led to this point, converging on the biggest opportunity of his career. Though it’s clear Moneke is endlessly shifting focus onto his next goal, this is one milestone worth stopping to smell the roses for.