| OG Anunoby | |
| Position: | Small forward / Power forward |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 7 |
| Weight Lbs: | 240 |
| League: | NBA |
| Team: | New York Knicks |
| Number: | 8 |
| Birth Date: | 17 July 1997 |
| Birth Place: | London, England |
| High School: | Jefferson City (Jefferson City, Missouri) |
| College: | Indiana (2015–2017) |
| Draft Year: | 2017 |
| Draft Round: | 1 |
| Draft Pick: | 23 |
| Draft Team: | Toronto Raptors |
| Career Start: | 2017 |
| Years1: | – |
| Team1: | Toronto Raptors |
| Years2: | –present |
| Team2: | New York Knicks |
| Highlights: | |
Ogugua "OG" Anunoby Jr. (born 17 July 1997) is a British professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers. He won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 and led the league in steals while being named to his first NBA All-Defensive Team in 2023.
Ogugua Anunoby was born in London, England on 17 July 1997, to Nigerian parents of Igbo descent.[1] His father, Ogugua Sr., taught as a professor in England at the time.[1] [2] His mother died of cancer when he was one year old.[3] At the age of four, Anunoby moved with his family to the U.S. and settled in Jefferson City, Missouri,[4] where his father was a professor of finance at Lincoln University. His older brother, Chigbo, played in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, and Minnesota Vikings before entering medical school.[5] Anunoby played football when he was young, but stopped around the age of eight to focus more on basketball because of his height.[2]
Anunoby played for Jefferson City High School.[6] During his senior season, he averaged 19.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game and was named a finalist for Mr Basketball in the state of Missouri.[7] In October 2014, Anunoby chose to attend Indiana University[8] over Georgia, Iowa, George Mason, and Ole Miss.
As a freshman in 2015–16 at Indiana, Anunoby appeared in 34 games, averaging 6.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game.[9] [10]
Anunoby was selected as a Pre-season All-American by The Sporting News.[11] On 18 January 2017, Anunoby injured his right knee against Penn State, causing him to undergo season-ending knee surgery.[12] On 10 April 2017, Anunoby declared his intention to enter the 2017 NBA draft and hire an agent, ending his tenure with the Hoosiers.[13]
On 22 June 2017, he was selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors.[14] On 9 July, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Raptors.[15] On 14 November, Anunoby made his first career start, against the Houston Rockets.[16] He finished the game with 16 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 30 minutes. By 15 December, he led starter rookies in offensive and defensive rating and had the third highest true shooting percentage and best turnover-to-assist ratio for a non-guard.[17]
On 29 January 2019, Anunoby was named a member of the World Team representing the United Kingdom for the 2019 Rising Stars Challenge.[18] In April 2019, Anunoby had an emergency appendectomy,[19] which caused him to miss most of the Raptors' championship playoff run. He dressed for the NBA Finals but did not play as the Raptors went on to win the title,[20] becoming the first British player to win an NBA championship.
On 1 March 2020, Anunoby scored 32 points and recorded seven steals, along with seven rebounds and three assists in a 133–118 loss against the Denver Nuggets.[21] He hit a game-winning buzzer-beater three-pointer on 3 September, in a 104–103 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics, and finished with 12 points. The buzzer-beater prevented the Raptors from going down to a 0–3 deficit to the Celtics.[22] The Raptors would eventually fall in seven games. On 21 December 2020, he signed a four year, $72 million extension, through the 2024–25 season.[23] On 24 January 2021, Anunoby scored a season-high 30 points while getting eight rebounds, one assist, five steals, and a block in a 107–102 win against the Indiana Pacers,[24] joining former Raptor Kawhi Leonard as the only players with multiple games getting 30 points, five rebounds, and five steals in franchise history.[25] On 1 November, Anunoby scored a career-high 36 points along with 6 rebounds and 2 assists along with the win against the Knicks.[26]
On 25 February 2022, Anunoby was sidelined due to a right finger fracture suffered against the Charlotte Hornets.[27] On 3 March, he was ruled out for two weeks to rest his fractured finger.[28]
On 16 November 2022, Anunoby scored a season-high 32 points during a 112–104 win against the Miami Heat.[29] During the 2022–23 season, Anunoby led the league in steals, becoming the first Raptors player and first British player to accomplish the feat.[30] At the end of the season, Anunoby was named for the first time to the NBA All-Defensive Second team.[31]
On 30 December 2023, Anunoby, along with Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn were traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a second-round pick.[32] On 1 January 2024, Anunoby made his Knicks debut, putting up 17 points and six rebounds in a 112–106 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.[33] During his first 10 games as a New York Knick, he set an NBA record with a +170 plus–minus for his first 10 games with a new team.[34] On 8 February 2024, it was announced that Anunoby had surgery on his right elbow to remove a loose bone fragment, sidelining him for a month.[35] Anunoby returned to play against the Philadelphia 76ers on 12 March.[36] On June 24, 2024, Anunoby declined his $19.9M player option with the Knicks becoming a free agent.[37]
On 6 July 2024, Anunoby re-signed with the Knicks.[38]
Anunoby has said, "It's definitely a goal of mine to inspire kids in Great Britain to want to play basketball and show that they can make it to the NBA from Britain."[39]
Anunoby is considered one of the best British players to ever play in the NBA.[40] [41]
In 2023, Anunoby became a minority stake owner of the London Lions.[42]
|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Toronto| 74 || 62 || 20.0 || .471 || .371 || .629 || 2.5 || .7 || .7 || .2 || 5.9|-| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †| style="text-align:left;"| Toronto| 67 || 6 || 20.2 || .453 || .332 || .581 || 2.9 || .7 || .7 || .3 || 7.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Toronto| 69 || 68 || 29.9 || .505 || .390 || .706 || 5.3 || 1.6 || 1.4 || .7 || 10.6|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Toronto| 43 || 43 || 33.3 || .480 || .398 || .784 || 5.5 || 2.2 || 1.5 || .7 || 15.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Toronto| 48 || 48 || 36.0 || .443 || .363 || .754 || 5.5 || 2.6 || 1.5 || .5 || 17.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Toronto| 67 || 67 || 35.6 || .476 || .387 || .838 || 5.0 || 2.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"|1.9* || .7 || 16.8|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"| Toronto| 27 || 27 || 33.3 || .489 || .374 || .717 || 3.9 || 2.7 || 1.0 || .5 || 15.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| New York| 23 || 23 || 34.9 || .488 || .394 || .791 || 4.4 || 1.5 || 1.7 || 1.0 || 14.1|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 418 || 344 || 29.1 || .474 || .376 || .745 || 4.3 || 1.6 || 1.3 || .5 || 12.0
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2023| style="text-align:left;"| Toronto| 1 || 1 || 42.3 || .308 || .286 || .900 || 4.0 || 5.5 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 13.0|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career| 1 || 1 || 42.3 || .308 || .286 || .900 || 4.0 || 5.5 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 13.0
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018| style="text-align:left;"| Toronto| 10 || 10 || 23.8 || .558 || .448 || .727 || 2.1 || .7 || .6 || .4 || 7.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020| style="text-align:left;"| Toronto| 11 || 11 || 35.7 || .455 || .415 || .643 || 6.9 || 1.2 || 1.0 || 1.2 || 10.5|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022| style="text-align:left;"| Toronto| 6 || 6 || 36.1 || .476 || .341 || .750 || 4.0 || 2.5 || 1.0 || .2 || 17.3|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2024| style="text-align:left;"| New York| 9 || 9 || 36.0 || .505 || .410 || .615 || 6.0 || 1.1 || .9 || 1.0 || 15.1 |- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 36 || 36 || 32.6 || .492 || .400 || .676 || 4.9 || 1.3 || .9 || .8 || 12.1
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2015–16| style="text-align:left;"| Indiana| 34 || 0 || 13.7 || .569 || .448 || .476 || 2.6 || .5 || .8 || .8 || 4.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2016–17| style="text-align:left;"| Indiana| 16 || 10 || 25.1 || .557 || .311 || .563 || 5.4 || 1.4 || 1.3 || 1.3 || 11.1|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 50 || 10 || 17.4 || .563 || .365 || .522 || 3.5 || .8 || 1.0 || .9 || 6.8