The Portland Fire have signed Amy Okonkwo to a standard WNBA contract as an injury replacement, in the wake of Sarah Ashlee Barker missing the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. Okonkwo, a two-time Women’s AfroBasket MVP, previously played for the Dallas Wings and Atlanta Dream. Now, she joins a first-year Fire squad that is 13-19 and hamstrung by injuries.
The Portland Fire have added an underrated player to their roster
Amy Okonkwo joins the Fire on a rest-of-season contract.
Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
Okonkwo has played in 9 WNBA regular-season games over the past two seasons. She averaged 11 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals for the Wings. She returned to the Wings this season on a training-camp deal but was waived before the season began. She then signed a developmental contract with the Atlanta Dream on May 13th, but was released on July 8th.
The 29-year-old has spent much of her professional career overseas, playing in Spain, France, Israel and Mexico. But she’s most known for her play with the Nigerian team; she averaged 17.4 points and 8.2 rebounds at the 2023 AfroBasket tournament.
She then led Nigeria to its fifth consecutive African title in 2025, scoring 14 points per game. Okonkwo was an integral part of the 2020 and 2024 Nigerian Olympic teams, averaging 11 points and 4.8 rebounds in Paris as the Nigerian women became the first African team, men or women, to reach the quarterfinals.
To take on this Fire opportunity, Okonkwo had to temporarily leave the Nigerian national team’s training camp — but she’ll return in time for the World Cup later this month.
“It’s a great opportunity,” she said in her first media availability on Tuesday. “I’d love to come in and help however I can.”
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