P&T Interview: Ten minutes with OG Anunoby

I was vacationing in Bar Harbor, Maine, with my father and youngest son when a bizarre email crossed my phone. A marketing company was offering me ten minutes with OG Anunoby. The Knicks’ star forward had partnered with the water brand Essentia and would be making the promotional rounds in two days. Would I be available to chat?

There are circumstances in which you decline an interview while on vacation—especially one spent introducing your father to an aunt he’d never met—but passing up ten minutes with OG would be a criminal dereliction of duty. Also, full disclosure: Anunoby is my favorite Knick, and the 12-year-old fanboy in me was short circuiting a little bit. Ten minutes isn’t much time, though, and my head filled with all the questions I might squeeze in.

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Ogugua “OG” Anunoby was born in London in 1997 to Nigerian parents of Igbo descent. His mother, Grace, a national-level track and field athlete in Nigeria, died of cancer when he was one. At four, OG moved with his father, a university professor, and six siblings to Jefferson City, Missouri. His older brother Chigbo later played in the NFL. OG gave up football for basketball around age eight, starred at Jefferson City High School, and went on to Indiana University. Despite a major knee injury, the Toronto Raptors selected him 23rd overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. On December 30, 2023, the Raptors traded Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn to the New York Knicks for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a second-round pick.

Unlike some athletes and celebrities who divulge everything about themselves for attention, OG remains an enigma. Little is known about his life off the court and on it, he carries himself like a Zen master. He rarely displays his passions during games. When he tipped in Jalen Brunson’s miss to complete a 29-point comeback and seal Game Four of this year’s Finals, the play was instantly minted as iconic. Anunoby, who scored 33 points that night, simply smiled while his teammates and the Garden exploded in ecstasy.

In nine seasons, Anunoby has received just nine technical fouls. Consider the following exchange with…

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Publish date : 2026-08-14 13:57:00

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