Arinze Onuaku has traveled the world looking for a NBA opportunity. Frank Vogel gave him a second chance and Onuaku earned his place with the Orlando Magic.
Ahead of the 2015 season, Arinze Onuaku and Damjan Rudez were both in a now-familiar place.
They were going through a practice and season preparations with Frank Vogel at the Indiana Pacers’ helm. Training for those precious few roster spots the NBA doles out every year. These guys were fighting for those last spots — the most difficult role to accept, but the opportunity of a lifetime.
Damjan Rudez made the roster that year. Onuaku did not.
It was no coincidence Onuaku would get another chance from his former coach and another chance to stick. And that his former teammate, Rudez would be there also fighting for his spot in the NBA.
Saturday the news came down, Arinze Onuaku would be part of the Orlando Magic’s opening night roster and very well might be the kind of player who sticks around and plays a key role for the team this season.
“It’s a big blessing,” Onuaku said. “You know how it is when you are fighting for a spot out here. Every day is a stressful morning and you are just trying to prove yourself. To get that news yesterday was great.”
Onuaku has been all over the map in the basketball world throughout his career.
After going undrafted out of Syracuse, Onuaku spent time in the D-League and then a league in Lithuania before returning to the U.S. to play for the New Orleans Pelicans and Cleveland Cavaliers. Another stint in the D-League and then a season in China followed. Then another failed NBA tryout with the Minnesota Timberwolves before stops in the Philippines and Israel.
It was a long journey before he arrived in Orlando to play for the Magic’s Summer League team — their White Team that was full of the long shots to make the roster and D-League hopefuls and happened to win the Orlando Summer League this year.
During that Summer League stint, Onuaku proved a bruising force. Other teams simply did not have the size to handle the 6-foot-9, 255-pound forward. His presence was enough to attract attention from defenses.
Onuaku said he got comfortable with Orlando at that time and decided to come back and try to crack the roster. There was something of a comfort level between the coaching staff and this player working hard to make the roster.
He chose the Magic as much as they chose him.
Vogel, like with Rudez, had coached Onuaku before. He liked the big man then even though the Pacers had to cut him but wanted to see him improve on some little details, especially on the defensive end. Even though Onuaku’s minutes were limited in the preseason — just 11:11 total in four preseason games — Vogel saw improvement in Onuaku’s approach.
“AO is a story about improvement,” coach Frank Vogel said. “I felt like he could do some things well, but he had not really committed to the details and more pointed the defensive details at a high enough level in terms of protecting the rim and anticipation and help. I really feel like he is a different player than he was a few years ago.”
Onuaku may end up playing an important role for the Magic this season. More important than initially realized.
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The Magic are pretty deep at center with Nikola Vucevic and Bismack Biyombo. But if one of those two go down or Bismack Biyombo, for instance, needs to play meaningful minutes at power forward (as he did Thursday night next to Nikola Vucevic), Onuaku’s added size and physicality will become more important.
Vogel confirmed Sunday the plan for rookie Stephen Zimmerman is to develop him largely behind the scenes. He will spend some time with the Erie Bayhawks of the D-League. And so Onuaku’s presence as a third center — and he will play exclusively center despite some appearances at power forward during the preseason — is important for the team’s depth.
Onuaku is a physical presence with a solid, if not rudimentary post game. He does not have to do a lot with his size against most centers.
With Onuaku and Rudez, they will both be on the end of the bench. Their playing time will be limited. They have to be ready to come in and play at a high level on a moment’s notice. It is a reality for their position in the league.
These players need to fit the culture better than any player because they will not likely see its rewards the most.
Rudez, at least, fits that according to Vogel. Vogel said Rudez’s 3-point shooting ability at his height — and his price — make him an extreme value to the Magic. And Rudez simply fits the Magic’s culture well.
The familiarity between Rudez and Vogel certainly helps with that. Onuaku too has that similar cultural fit. These two players had to fight for their spot among six training camp invitees and earned their place on the team for this reason.
“I was very happy for him,” Rudez said. “I texted him immediately. I was rooting for him. Because him and me did training camp in Indiana so we knew each other from there. He was one of the guys that didn’t make the roster. Knowing that he has been in and out of the league and finally seizing this opportunity. People telling him how much he is appreciated by showing he’s going to be on a team and earning that roster spot, it makes me very happy for him too.”
Onuaku’s journey to reach the Orlando Magic was a long one. It was a difficult one too.
There is no guarantee how long this journey with the Magic will last. His training camp contract is now a non-guaranteed deal. Onuaku and Rudez will be sweating their status once again come January when all non-guaranteed deals are guaranteed for the season.
All the uncertainty will rise up again then. All that matters for now is that the hard work paid off — those moments of doubt through long years overseas — and Onuaku is here.
“We all have this dream as a kid,” Onuaku said. “And as you go through year in and year out, you never really know what the situation is going to be. Everywhere you go, you just try to improve as a player. And then come back here in the Summer League. Everyone is looking to see did he get better, did he improve? That’s what I was able to do.”
That improvement will have to continue to stay on the roster to the end of the season and to stay in the league beyond this year and this moment.
Next: Damjan Rudez's instant offense leads to Magic roster spot
Onuaku earned this opportunity now. His journey has found its reward.