Just when the Knicks and their fans thought the franchise’s streak of bad luck was ending, rising star OG Anunoby, 26, is listed as out for Tuesday’s game vs. Memphis. He is set to miss his fifth straight game with right elbow inflammation.
Prior to this recent injury, the Knicks’ trade for Anunoby seemed like destiny to Knicks fans. It’s almost impossible in NBA trades for a team to find the perfect piece, but that’s what the Knicks front office accomplished when it traded a No. 3 overall pick (2019) in RJ Barrett and another highly-coveted young player in Immanuel Quickly to Toronto for the multi-talented, defensive-minded veteran Anunoby.
Anunoby, in his sixth season, is one of the best 3-and-D players in the league and one of the best on-ball wing defenders the league has seen in some time. He was exactly what the Knicks needed to complement two very capable scorers in Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. He brings them one step closer to serious contention in averaging 15.3 points per game, 4.2 rebounds and almost two steals.
New York Knicks Player OG Anunoby Has Reported Net Worth Of $50 Million
If the world didn’t know who Anunoby was when he was helping the Toronto Raptors win an NBA championship in 2019, his ascension as one of the stars who bring Knicks fans to Madison Square Garden expecting a win, has started to really put him on the map.
Anunoby continues the trend of foreign-born players breaking into the NBA and becoming impactful players on high profile teams.
So how did a 26-year-old kid from London become an NBA star with a reported net worth of roughly $50M? It’s not like the U.K. is a hotbed for future NBA stars. Pop and rap artists and soccer players sure. He’s just one of seven players from England in NBA history.
Family Is His Foundation
Anunoby was born in the Harlesden area of London on July 17, 1997. His father was born and raised in Nigeria before moving to the UK for graduate school, but OG didn’t spend much time in London. When he was 4, his father was offered a teaching opportunity as a professor of Business and Finance at Lincoln University and the family moved to Jefferson City, Missouri.
His older brother is also an athlete and played for four different NFL teams as a defensive lineman. Chigbo Anunoby played at Morehouse College in Atlanta and then bounced around the NFL with the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans before entering medical school.
While OG gets his discipline and drive from his father, his family’s athletic genes come from his mother, who competed in track and field at a national level in Nigeria but passed away due to cancer when OG was just a year old.
OG’s father stressed academics. He and his siblings had to read for an hour every night as well as maintain a high-grade point average, and it helped him build up his work ethic.
At Jefferson City High School, he did it all. Anunoby played soccer, competed in the 400m, high and long jump on the track, played wide receiver and reportedly was great in baseball as a pitcher.
His father thought Anunoby could go pro in baseball, but OG says he was obsessed with basketball since he was 8 years old and begged his dad to get him a hoop to practice his shooting.
The rest is history.
OG Anunoby Has Made $89 Million In NBA
Anunoby has earned nearly $89 million already in the NBA. His next contract with the Knicks will be through the roof and should clear the $100 million mark. He signed a four-year, $9.7 million deal as a rookie after the Toronto Raptors drafted him with the 23rd pick of the 2017 Draft.
His second contract was a four-year, $72 million guaranteed contract in 2020 and his salary for this season is a smooth $18,642,857. Anunoby’s contract runs through the 2024/25 season. Then he will become an unrestricted free agent.
Endorsements and Investments
OG is still a young investor but he’s not oblivious to money management and has a shrewd business acumen.
The defensive-stopper already has deals with Adidas, Chipotle, Gatorade Canada and Google Pixel. His major investment as a minority stakeholder in the basketball team, London Lions, also brings him a nice bag.
His current net worth is estimated at $50 million and with the endorsements that are sure to follow as he becomes a star on a revitalized Knicks franchise, his empire will rise quickly.
For now, the riches are just a part of the reward for grinding to the top of the game. With more than enough money to be comfortable already, Anunoby can build a legacy that money can’t buy if he continues to help transform the New York Knicks — a franchise that hasn’t won a championship since 1973 — into a true contender.
