Taylor Okari Ongwae

Tylor Okari Ongwae is a Kenyan swingman whose defensive intensity and clutch scoring have carried him from Kisumu’s outdoor courts to championships on three continents. The 6 ft 7 in forward starred at Louisiana–Monroe before turning pro in 2016, winning titles in Sweden with Södertälje Kings and earning back-to-back Basketligaen Defensive Player of the Year honours (2021, 2022) with Denmark’s Bakken Bears. A mid-season move to Germany paid off in April 2024 when he helped Niners Chemnitz capture the FIBA Europe Cup, Kenya’s first player to lift the trophy, averaging 11 points, 6 rebounds and suffocating perimeter defense through the play-offs.

Ongwae has also been the heartbeat of a resurgent Kenya Morans squad. He poured in 21.7 points per game to lead Kenya to a silver medal at the 2019 FIBA AfroCan and drilled a buzzer-beating jumper against Angola in February 2021 to book the country’s first AfroBasket berth in 28 years. In 2023–24 World Cup African qualifiers he paced Kenya in steals and efficiency, cementing his status as the team’s two-way anchor and captain-elect.

Off the hardwood he runs the Okari Hoops Clinic, supplying gear and mentorship to youth in Kisumu and Nairobi’s Umoja estate, determined to grow a talent pipeline that can match his own globe-trotting journey.