Chiney Ogwumike Goes Under the Knife... Again!

Connecticut's Chiney Ogwumike has undergone yet another major surgery.

UNCASVILLE, Conn.— Hard-luck Connecticut Sun forward Chiney Ogwumike underwent successful Achilles surgery on her left tendon at Houston Methodist Orthopedics and Sports Medicine on Wednesday. The timetable for recovery is typically six to nine months.

“Battle scars come with the territory,” said Ogwumike, the 2016 WNBA Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year. “I firmly believe that every disappointment is a blessing because the person that emerges is stronger than before.”

Ogwumike, who missed all of the 2015 season while recovering from micro-fracture surgery on her right knee, bounced back in fine fashion last season. She appeared in 33 games—18 of them starts—and ended the 2016 campaign as the Sun’s leading rebounder (6.7 per game) and second-leading scorerg (12.6 per). She closed out the season on a wild run that included 17 straight games scoring in double-digits–a streak that tied the affable Nigerian-American for fourth place in franchise istory. In that span, she averaged 16.9 points and 9.2 rebounds with seven 20-point games and eight double-doubles.

Ogwumike had her best game of the 2016 campaign on June 20 when she poured in a career-high 26 points and added seven blocks with 15 rebounds for good measure in a games vs. the Wings in Dallas. The seven blocks tied The Tomball, Tex., native for third most in a game in Sun history. She also set a franchise record for most shots made without a miss in an 8-for-8 performance against Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen and the Minnesota Lynx on June 7.  Competing in China this offseason, Ogwumike was the first-round MVP of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA), where she averaged 33.6 points and 12.4 rebounds per game for Henan Yichuan.

Chiney and "Big Sis" Nneka played together for one year at Stanford.

The first overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft after an All-American career at Stanford, Ogwumike averaged 15.5 points with 29 double-figure scoring games in her first pro season on the way to WNBA Rookie of the Year honors. Chiney's older sister, Nnemkadi "Nneka" Ogwumike, also attended Stanford and was drafted No. 1 overall by the Los Angeles Sparks, for whom she still plays, in 2012.

“Chiney continues to be an inspiration to me with her positive attitude and a champion’s mentality,” Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller said. “She will look at the bright side of this latest set back and see an opportunity to become an even better player, person and teammate.  Her determination to attack any obstacle is impressive.”