Arike Ogunbowale

Arike Faulina “Goomba” Ogunbowale (; born March 2, 1997) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Mist of Unrivaled. She played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, before being drafted by the Wings with the fifth overall pick of the 2019 WNBA draft. She was the Most Outstanding Player of Notre Dame's 2018 national title run, hitting game-winning baskets in both the semi-final and championship game.

Early life She was born to parents Yolanda Block Ogunbowale and Nigerian expat Gregory Ogunbowale in Milwaukee. She is the youngest of three children. She is of Yoruba descent and her name "Arike" means "a child you treasure, cherish, pamper and love" in the Yoruba language. Her father served in the Nigerian military while her mother Yolanda played softball at DePaul University and her brother Dare played football at the University of Wisconsin and is a running back for the Houston Texans. She is also a cousin of basketball player Diamond Stone. From 2009 to 2012, Ogunbowale was part of four Division One Wisconsin State High School Champions soccer teams.

High school In high school, she also played as a soccer forward, but decided to focus on basketball after coming to enjoy the sport more.

College career Ogunbowale averaged 11.4 points per game in her freshman season at Notre Dame as a reserve player, and became a regular starter the next year.

In her junior season, Ogunbowale helped the Fighting Irish win the 2018 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, making game-winning baskets in the semifinal against UConn and in the final against Mississippi State. Shortly after the end of the 2017–18 school year, the Atlantic Coast Conference named her as its female Athlete of the Year across all sports, sharing honors with men's winner Lamar Jackson of Louisville football.

In her next and final season at Notre Dame, she again helped them to the final of the NCAA tournament but this time, despite contributing 31 points through that match and a tournament average of 22.8 points, she missed 1 of 2 free throws in the final seconds against Baylor, with her miss providing the final 1-point margin.

Professional career WNBA Ogunbowale entered the WNBA league in 2019 when she was the fifth overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings.

Ogunbowale was selected as the WNBA 2021 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) with 26 points in the team WNBA win versus the women's Olympic squad, Team USA (July 14, 2021). During the 2019 season, she was third in the league in scoring, averaging 19.1 points per game. She scored 20 or more points in 13 of her final 14 games, including the final 11 of the season. After the season, Ogunbowale was named to the All-Rookie Team.

In May 2023 she was named the WNBA's Western Conference Player of the Month. Over four games in May, she ranked third in scoring in the WNBA. In a game where she scored 21 points against Minnesota, she became the 11th player in league history to score over 20 points in the first four games of the season.

While playing with the Wings early on, in the winter she played overseas in Turkey and then Russia. She coached at the 2022 NBA Academy Women's Camp during an offseason trip to Saly, Senegal. In June 2023, her parents praised the debut of WNBA shows being aired on national television, allowing her games to be seen outside of arenas. She led the Dallas Wings to a second win over Mercury in front of a sellout crowd in June 2023, scoring a season-high of 35 points for the Wings in a 90–77 win. She sank 12 of 21 shots with five assists.

On July 20, 2024, Ogunbowale was named the WNBA All Star Game MVP after scoring 34 points (a WNBA All-Star Game record) with 6 assists—all in the second half. This was the 2nd All-Star MVP title for Ogunbowale, who also won the title in 2021. In both cases, the WNBA All-Stars were playing against Team USA Olympic teams.

Unrivaled On July 12, 2024, it was announced that Ogunbowale would appear and play in the inaugural season of Unrivaled, a new women's 3-on-3 basketball league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. In the 2025 Unrivaled season she played for Vinyl BC. In the 1v1 tournament of Unrivaled she finished as a semi-finalist, losing to eventual runner-up Aaliyah Edwards.

On November 5, 2025, it was announced that Ogunbowale had been drafted by Mist BC for the 2026 Unrivaled season.

Career statistics Denotes season(s) in which Ogunbowale won an NCAA Championship WNBA Regular season Stats current through end of 2025 season

Playoffs

College

Personal life In April 2018, Ogunbowale was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on season 26 of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with professional dancer, Gleb Savchenko. Ogunbowale and Savchenko were eliminated from the competition on May 7, 2018, placing 7th.

On May 19, 2024, Arike announced her engagement to Lala Ronay. The couple married on February 24, 2026.

Arike's older brother, Dare, is a professional football player in the NFL.

On March 5, 2026, Ogunbowale was arrested for misdemeanor battery for punching a man in the face at a Miami nightclub. She was out celebrating winning the Unrivaled championship.