BIOGRAPHY
OG Anunoby was born on July 17, 1997, in London, United Kingdom. He is a forward in the NBA.
Anunoby was born in London, U.K., and raised in the United States where he fell in love with basketball despite his father’s passion for soccer. He attended Jefferson City High School in Missouri where he averaged 19.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game as a senior. Despite this, he came to Indiana an under-the-radar college player, averaging 13.7 minutes per game in his freshman season, but made headlines in the NCAA Tournament in 2016 when he used his defence to help the Hoosiers upset the Kentucky Wildcats in the second round. That defence is the first thing that stands out about Anunoby at this point in his career. A 19-year-old who can guard positions 1-through-5 on the floor generally isn’t available with the 23rd pick. The season-ending ACL injury Anunoby sustained may have prevented him from finishing out his season in Indiana, but it didn’t keep him out of the gym.
Anunoby had an up-close example of what it takes to be a professional athlete. His older brother, Chigbo, played in the NFL, providing Anunoby an opportunity to see the work ethic needed to make it to the pros firsthand. After a quiet freshman year, Anunoby’s role was expanded in his sophomore season prior to injury. Playing 25.1 minutes per game, Anunoby averaged 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds while recording at least one block or one steal in all 16 of his games played.
Though Anunoby has just started to scratch the surface of his abilities, he’s already learned to enjoy each first as it comes.
On 22 June 2017, Anunoby was selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors. On 9 July, he signed a rookie-scale contract with the Raptors. On 14 November, Anunoby made his first career start. By 15 December he led starter rookies in offensive and defensive rating, besides having the third most True Scoring % and best Turnover-to-Assist ratio for a non-guard. On 3 April 2018, he hit his first ever buzzer beater, against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
On 29 January 2019, Anunoby was named a member of the World Team for the 2019 Rising Stars Challenge. He was apart of the Raptors' championship playoff run.
Anunoby hit a game-winning buzzer-beating three-pointer on September 3, 2020, 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 an 0–3 deficit to the Celtics.
On 21 December 2020, he signed a four year, $72 million extension, through the 2024–25 season.
