From overlooked to 17th in the NBA Draft, Ebuka Okorie is a first for New Hampshire

History was made for New Hampshire on Tuesday night.

The Thunder selected Nashua native Ebuka Okorie with the No. 17 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft before he was flipped to the Pistons.

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The 6-foot-1-inch combo guard is the state’s first first-round pick, and second player drafted to the NBA. The other is Concord native Matt Bonner, who the Bulls picked in the second round in 2003.

“It’s everything I’ve dreamed of,” Okorie told ESPN. “I’ve dreamed of this since I started playing basketball, it’s always been my goal to get here. And to just see it happen in real time with my family, all my loved ones, it means the world to me.”

Okorie played at Stanford last season, being part of the standout batch of one-and-done freshmen across the country. He led the ACC in scoring with 23.2 points per game and was named an All-American honorable mention by the Associated Press.

But before his time on the West Coast, he’d made a name for himself at powerhouse Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro for his senior season.

He invited Brewster head coach Jason Smith, and assistant coach Josh Lee, to Barclays Center to watch him reach his dream.

“It was phenomenal,” Smith, who has since departed Brewster for Masters Academy International, told the Globe. “Very happy for an amazing kid, very happy for his family, just a very, very proud moment. I was happy I was able to be with him on that occasion.”

Smith may not have coached Okorie for long, but the player entered Smith’s radar very early.

As the smallest and possibly youngest kid in the camp, Smith said Okorie’s father, Charles, approached him and made his son’s love for basketball and intentions of playing for Brewster clear.

An opportunity that didn’t come to fruition initially, though.

Okorie spent his first three years of high school at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham. He garnered a few offers — Bryant, Brown, and Harvard, to name a few — but it was a humble beginning for the then-unranked recruit.

He’d spent many years cutting his chops in the grassroots scene. Specifically, playing for Leo Papile of the Boston Amateur Basketball Club.

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Before his senior year, Okorie’s father reached back out to Smith.

A door was open and he was ready.

Smith said despite the lack of national interest, he thought Okorie was an “elite talent and great prospect” by the time he came in.

“He wasn’t dissuaded by not being a national top-100 recruit,” Smith said. “He wasn’t playing for the clicks and the highlights; he was very focused and driven to be better today than he was yesterday.”

Okorie reaffirmed Smith’s feelings about him, being named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year and eventually becoming a top-100 recruit by the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

But it wasn’t just his skillset that impressed him. Smith felt Okorie’s character reminded him of Bonner, who’s one of Smith’s close friends as they both grew up in the Granite State.

“Not only are they very driven athletically, but they’re very competitive to be the best in whatever they do, academics or athletics,” Smith said. “I think that drive is going to take Ebuka very, very far.”

Okorie now joins players like Donovan Mitchell, Matas Buzelis, and Will Barton on the long list of Brewster former players to be drafted.

It’s no small feat, but it pales in comparison to what he has achieved as a native of the state.

Now, when kids Google “best basketball players from New Hampshire,” Okorie and Bonner will be at the top of the list.

Being in the room with the two-time champion, Bonner, is already noteworthy enough. But furthermore, it also puts him in position to become a role model, something Smith said he’s already embraced.

“A year ago, Ebuka wasn’t considered a top-100 high school player in the class of ‘25, and last night he was the 17th overall pick in the NBA Draft,” Smith said. “It just shows you what hard work, discipline can achieve in terms of your goals.”

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