Nashua's Ebuka Okorie could very well make city and state history tonight in the NBA Draft. (AP photo)

NASHUA – Tonight could turn out to be one of the biggest nights in the city’s and state’s sports history.

That’s because for the first time ever, a Nashuan – and someone from New Hampshire – will likely be a first round pick in the NBA Draft that is set to begin Tuesday at 8 p.m.at the Barclays Center in Brookly,N.Y., televised live by ABC/ESPN.

Yes, a former Nashua Jr. Biddy basketball player who scored 63 points in the city championship game. We should have all known then.

Many may not be aware the Atlantic Coast Conference’s leading scorer this past season, freshman Ebuka Okorie is from here. That’s because he spent his high school years at prep school, first at Cushing and then Brewster Academy. And in the last month, he’s had pre-draft workouts with several NBA teams, reportedly including the Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks.

His coach from Brewster, Jason Smith, who is now coaching at a new IMG-type school opening in September in Stow, Mass. called Masters Academy International, has been inundated with queries from NBA teams. Okorie, Smith said, has worked out for 11 teams and Smith has heard from as many as 15.

“I talked to an NBA front office earlier today,” Smith said on Monday, “and what I told them was he plays basketball because he loves it. A lot of kids in this draft play because they love the attention that basketball brings them. I think Ebuka generally loves the process of getting better. He demonstrated that this year.”

Reportedly his stock has risen sharply as, as one draft projector, R.J. Johnson said, “a score-first playmaker.”

How did all this happen? Smith feels Okorie has taken the coaching he’s recieved and run with it.

“He had a great coach at Cushing Academy in James Cormier,” he said. “He played for a legendary AAU coach in Leo Papile (former Celtics assistant), probably one of the four best AAU programs. I think most importantly, he has an unbelievable work ethic. He’s very driven.”

Okorie’s game took off at Brewster as a point guard averaging 13.1 points per game and he was named the 2024-25 New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year.

Long story short, Okorie, now 19, was originally set to play at Harvard this past season – Brown and Harvard were the two top schools early in the recruiting process after him – but his family and coaches at Brewster felt he could go at a higher level. They contacted Stanford University, and the Cardinal coaches said they had a spot for him, came through with an offer, and so he went there. Okorie suddenly became late night must-see TV as he blossomed into not only arguably the best freshman in the country but overall one of the nation’s best collegiate players. Stanford, however, missed the NCAA tourney so much of the country was deprived of seeing him.

He averaged 23.2 points a game in 31 games , all starts to lead the Cardinal, as well as the ACC and be eighth in the country. He also had 3.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals a game, and showed an incredibly quick burst to the hoop. He averaged 35 minutes a game, shot 46 percent from the floor (35 percent from 3-point range). He scored 34 points in his final game at Stanford, a loss to West Virginia in the quarterfinals of the eight-team Crown Tournament earlier this month in Las Vegas.

Shortly after, he posted on social media his NBA Draft intentions while thanking Stanford and the coaching staff for his opportunity this season.

“With the conclusion of the season, I talked with my coaches, family and representation about my future,” he said. “I have decided to declare for the 2025 NBA draft.”

And now, when it was first thought perhaps a second rounder or late first round, some mock drafts have him projected for the mid-first round or what’s called “Late lottery”.

“Okorie is the best driving guard in the class, a 6-1 (he’s now listed at 6-2, 18) jitterbug who manipulates defenders with a tight handle, sudden changes of speed, and and an advanced feel for the game,” one mock draft wrote, seeing him going to the Memphis Grizzlies with the 16th pick in the first round. “Not long ago he as a kid from New Hampshire who ranked outside the top 100.”

It was a record setting year. Okorie set a Stanford record with 36 points in an upset over North Carolina, and he broke a record for ACC freshmen with eight games of 30 points or more.

Where would he go in the draft? The thinking a couple of months ago was second round, but the way he played the last two months of the season likely brings him into the late first round. If that’s the case, he’ll potentially wind up on a talented NBA roster.

None of this was expected, not even when Okorie arrived at Stanford from Brewster, the prep school in Wolfeboro. He transferred there a couple of years ago after starting his prep career at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Mass.

The coaching has been a key, Smith said.

“Thank you Coach (Kyle) Smith, Coach Hunter, and the entire Stanford coaching staff,” he said in his post hen he declared. “A year ago you guys took a chance on a kid from New Hampshire with zero high major offers, welcoming me with open arms and allowing me to be the best version of myself on and off the court.”

Okorie continued his gratitude toward the Cardinal in his post.

“Thank you to my teammates and especially the seniors for taking me under their wing and making my transition to college as seamless as possible,” he added. “I’m truly blessed and humbled with this opportunity, and I’m thankful to Stanford for helping me chase my dreams.”

In just over a couple of months, those dreams will likely begin to become a reality.

That’s what Tuesday night will be all about, and it will make local sports history.

The debate on who could select him and at what spot continues. The Philly Voice’s Adam Aranson recently interviewed NBA scout Brian Geisinger, who called Okorie “one of the most threatening and crafty playmakers in this draft cycle. He possesses arguably the best first step in his class: lightning quick and incredibly smooth with his acceleration while demonstrationg excellent body control.”

The Philly Voice also cited CBB Analytics which basically gave certaintly that Okorie can create his own opportunites. The data said he averaged 22.2 unassisted points per 40 minutes with 88.9 percent of his 2-point field goals and 58.7 percent of his 3-poiners were unassisted. Highly impressive.

The Sixers, though, don’t pick until No. 28. One team that other internet sites say is interested in Okorie is the Chicago Bulls, who just named Portland interim coach Tiago Splitter as their new head coach. Splitter is said to be big on player development.

SB Nation, in an account on Yahool Sports, said “Okorie’s lite trait is his abiity to get to the basket at will.” That story says the Toronto Raptors, who pick at No. 19, could be interested.

He’s attended pre-draft workouts for teams, and has been training with two-time NBA champion Mike Miller. In May he attended the 2026 NBA Combine and is represented by Lift Sports Management.

What would prevent him from being a late Lottery or late first round pick? Size, for one, and the fear that longer, bigger NBA defenders would negate his ability to get to the basket. Okorie is not an above-the-rim player.

But also, he’s only 19 and will likely mature even more physically.

“Just want to inspire the next generation,” O’Korie told WMUR-TV. “Really just an inspiration for all those kids in New Hampshire, younger, older, hopefully inspire them to believe they can accomplish, whether it’s basketball, or other aspects of life, to really be ambitious and shoot for the stars.”

No matter what, it’s pretty certain Okorie will reach those stars tonight and belong to an NBA team after this draft, a dream come true.

“Commit your actions to the Lord and your plans will succeed,” his bio states.

That could very well be the case this historic night.