On February 7, 2026, Tobi Akinkunmi played in his final regular season game for the UBC Thunderbirds. It was his 58th career Canada West start, moving him into a tie for eighth-most all-time in program history.
 
He also finished with career regular season totals of 39 blocks and 107 steals, sixth and tied for ninth in program history in those two categories, respectively.
 
And the best part? He had no idea any of that was the case.
 
"This is the first time I'm hearing of all that, that's crazy," says Akinkunmi with a big grin. "It's honestly so surreal, you can see the joy on my face right now. I had no clue I was going to be where I'm at right now to be honest with you…it's been a crazy ride and I'm just grateful that I've been able to do it and be here."
 

 
While listed as being from Calgary, Akinkunmi bounced around a bit as a kid. Born in Houston, he moved north of the border to Alberta when he was six. Four years later it was off to London, England, for a bit, before returning to Calgary ahead of Grade 8.
 
Similarly, his sports journey didn't begin and end with basketball either. He was originally obsessed with soccer, until a big growth spurt shot him up to well over six feet tall. Pressed by his coach into changing his position from striker to centre-back and then goalkeeper, that – combined with feeling a little less coordinated than he had before following the sudden height change – made him fall out of love somewhat with the sport.
 
"It seemed like the right pivot," reflects Akinkunmi on what led to the switch to basketball as his primary sport. "The Raptors were super big at that time, all of my friends were into basketball, and so I decided to try it out."
 
While the waters were choppy in the beginning, Akinkunmi stuck with it and quickly improved his skills, becoming a recruit to watch for Canada West coaches.
 
"When I started playing AAU basketball, my first coach I had called me Shirley Temple because I was super soft for the first three months that I was there, and I wanted to quit so bad, but now you guys see the dog you have on the court now," he remembers with a chuckle. "I have this addiction to getting better at things, so seeing myself get better every single day was everything for me.
 
"Going into my Grade 9 AAU season, my coach John Hegwood, he coached me through to the end of high school. He was honestly like another dad that I had. I love my dad to death and he's there for me and everything, but just in terms of basketball and all of that knowledge, [Hegwood] really took me under his wing. I wasn't the greatest, and a lot of people knew I wasn't the greatest, but he saw a lot of stuff in me that I didn't really even see in myself.
 
"He was talking to me, texting me, making sure I was locked in, giving me workout plans, working me out himself – he's really instilled a lot of the hard work that I have in myself to this day."
 

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Deciding between staying in Alberta for university or coming out to UBC, Akinkunmi was drawn by the allure of spending the next stage of his life in Vancouver. Arriving on campus in the fall of 2020, this school year marks his sixth as a Thunderbird, during which time he's earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and is set to complete the Master of Management program in the UBC Sauder School of Business this year.
 
Having now lived in four different cities for an extended period at different times, Akinkunmi has had a wide variety of experiences in his life. While there's been a lot of good, he's also been forced to push through adversity at times.
 
"I mean being black in a predominantly white area, it's going to be tough sometimes," he says. "There have been times where people don't really think I'm supposed be where I'm supposed to be, you know what I mean? That's hard, but you kind of just take it on the chin and realize that you're almost doing something right if people don't think you are where you're supposed to be.
 
"If you're hating on me because you don't think I'm supposed to be in this field or in this scene or whatever it may be, then it's honestly a compliment to me because it shows that I've surpassed every expectation you might have had of me."


 
With February being Black History Month, Akinkunmi sees now as a good of a time as any to celebrate all of what it represents.
 
"Black culture in general I feel is very much a driving force in the world and doesn't get as much recognition as it should. There's a lot of Black culture that's behind a lot of things that we have right now, and a lot of people don't know that. So this is a good time that people can lock in and see everything that's been done and what Black people have built and created."
 
Here at UBC, Akinkunmi has certainly strived to make an impact both on and off the court, and to make the absolute most out of his university experience.
 
The 6'7" forward smiles wide while recalling some of his favourite memories as a Thunderbird athlete. His first career three-pointer, made during the final regular season game of his rookie season. Getting the start against NCAA Division I program UNLV in a non-conference game to begin his second year, one in which the 'Birds pulled out the win. Scoring a career-high 23 points in the opening playoff game of that same season against Mount Royal, before then dropping 19 points on Alberta the very next night. Hosting the U SPORTS Final 8 here in Vancouver last March.


 
He's served as a team captain, and as a representative on the Thunderbird Athletes Council. And he's enjoyed every bit of it.
 
"It's meant the world to me, honestly," he says on what it's meant to him to be a Thunderbird. "Like, UBC is a top 30, top 40 university in the entire world, and the Thunderbirds are a top program in Canada. Being able to be part of the UBC community and the Thunderbird community, all of the connections I've made, the people I've met, it's been an experience that I can't put into words how grateful I am to have had it."
 
The education side has been just as important as the basketball side for Akinkunmi, an emphasis that has been present since he first arrived in Vancouver.
 
"My dad has always emphasized to me that basketball isn't forever. Obviously he supports what I do with basketball and he's here at games, but he wants me to know that I'm not going to be bouncing a basketball forever and that I need to have my life set up. And I really take that into everything I do.
 
"Whether it was my undergrad, or being on the Athletes Council, or now my Master's that I'm in, I'm trying to be active in so many areas so I can be a very diversified person and be set up for life in general."
 
While he doesn't know just yet what next year and beyond will hold for him, Akinkunmi does plan on finding a new niche for himself in the business world once he leaves UBC, and have that become his primary focus over basketball.
 
"I want to be successful in this life and have a big impact," he states. "I feel like I've been able to make an impact in the UBC community, and so now it's sort of like what's the next space I'm going to have an impact in? Like I said earlier, I'm addicted to trying to get better and that's what I'm throwing my drive into next."
 

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For now, though, he's focused on enjoying every day that remains in his final U SPORTS season. After defeating Manitoba in the Canada West Quarterfinals last weekend, the T-Birds now head to Winnipeg to take on the Wesmen – the No. 3 ranked team in the country – in the semifinal round on Saturday night.
 
If the Thunderbirds win, they'll punch their ticket not just to the Canada West Final, but also to the U SPORTS Final 8. Should they make it to nationals, Akinkunmi would have the full-circle moment of playing his final career games as a Thunderbird in Calgary, the city where he first began to play the sport.
 
In the decade or so since those beginnings, Akinkunmi has grown from a kid himself into a young adult who – along with his teammates – can serve as a role model for the kids who come out to see the Thunderbirds play inside War Memorial Gym.
 
"It feels amazing, man," he says. "Like, there are fans that have been supporting me since I was in my first year. One of my favourites, this guy Tyson, he's been supporting me since I was a rookie barely getting any minutes, telling me I'm his favourite player and everything.
 
"It's stuff like that which really makes it so much more worth it, because you see the impact you can have on some of these kids' lives. I've literally seen [Tyson] grow up from the 10 year-old he was then to the 16 year-old he is now. And he's asking me about different stuff he wants to do, or what he should do to get on his senior team…little things like that mean the world to me."
 
When it comes to the mindset within the locker room ahead of this weekend's matchup against Winnipeg – set to be his 105th career game as a Thunderbird across regular season and playoffs – Akinkunmi says it's a mix of both excitement and resolve.
 
"I think we're very grounded and humble right now because we know anything can happen, but we also have the most confidence in the world in ourselves, and Phil [Jalalpoor] has the most confidence in us. Jacob [Simmons], Jamie [Oei], Doug [Eberhardt] – all our coaches have all the confidence in the world in us, and instill in us every single day that if we do the things we need to do, we can be one of the best teams in the country.
 
"What we're trying to do every single day is come in, work hard, and just try and be the best that we can be."