Athleticism runs in the Oweh family. This summer, Otega Oweh was selected in the second round of the NBA Draft, five years after Odafe Oweh was a first round pick in the NFL Draft.
The football-playing older brother is no stranger to passionate fanbases. He played college football in Happy Valley, but nothing he saw at Penn State prepared him for what happened when his brother was hooping in Lexington.
“Kentucky was crazy,” the elder Oweh told WUSA. “To see a fanbase show that much love for their players, not only their players, my brother. I saw someone had Oweh tatted on their face. Seeing my last name on someone’s face is crazy.”
Seeing your last name on another man’s face in the wild must have been an experience. Crazy is really the only word that applies. It also could be used to describe the shot his younger brother hit at the buzzer in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Odafe Oweh had just signed a four-year, $96 million deal with the Washington Commanders, cashing in after the pass-rusher secured 7.5 sacks in a dozen games for the Chargers. He was unable to make the trip to St. Louis for the NCAA Tournament game against Santa Clara. Despite the dire circumstances, he was confident his brother was going to deliver for the Wildcats.
“I knew he was going to make it. We have some type of playmaking genes,” Odafe previously said. “So when he was dribbling, I was like, ‘Go! Go! Go!’”
Otega scored more points in two years than any other player in Kentucky basketball history, tallying 1,255 points and multiple game-winning shots. Despite his scoring acumen, there was a chance he could be left out of the NBA Draft. After a strong outing at the NBA Combine, the former Kentucky guard proved that he should be in the mix. That didn’t settle any nerves at the Oweh house.
“The draft part, watching him get drafted, the nerves he had. I was in a similar position,” Odafe said. “I had everyone around me, and I wanted them to shut up, be quiet, because I’m in my head. When his name finally got called, seeing the elation in his face… it was crazy, but it was deja vu too.”
Otega was taken with the 11th pick of the second round by the Oklahoma City Thunder, giving the Oweh family draft picks in the NBA and NFL. Remarkable. Hopefully, one day the younger brother will be signing deals as lucrative as his big brother’s.
Odafe Oweh’s younger brother, Otega Oweh, was a star basketball player at Kentucky. Otega was selected in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. pic.twitter.com/BqaISx6RyS
— Marshall Kramsky (@marshallkramsky) August 6, 2026