Early Life
Okafor was born in Houston, Texas. Both of his parents are natives of Nigeria, and Emeka was the first member of his family born in the United States. His father, Pius Okafor, is a member of the Igbo ethnic group. Okafor's family moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma when he was young because his father worked for Phillips Petroleum Company, headquartered in Bartlesville. While in Bartlesville, Emeka's father Pius took his son to the Bartlesville YMCA to learn the game of basketball. As a child growing up in the Houston area, Okafor idolized Houston Rockets shooting guard Clyde Drexler. He models his game, however, after Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon.
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