The University of Kentucky's newly-signed center Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso sees parallels between himself and Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose character he auditioned to play in the recently-released Disney+ film Rise.
Rise is the dramatised story of the Antetokounmpo brothers' unlikely ascent to the top of the basketball world, despite having grown up undocumented in Greece as their Nigerian parents struggled to secure legal residency.
Onyenso, the youngest player ever to compete for Nigeria's men's national team, told ESPN that before signing for the Wildcats he had auditioned for the role of Giannis in Rise, though it eventually went to actor Uche Agada.