The British team O.G. Anunoby just invested in is an absolute juggernaut

London-born Toronto Raptor O.G. Anunoby has just made an investment in a British basketball team that's been unbelievably successful.

Nick Ashbourne
·Writer
·3 min read

Most of the headlines about O.G. Anunoby since the Toronto Raptors' season ended have been about a possible contract extension, but he made news for a different reason on Tuesday.

The NBA steals leader announced that he's getting involved in the business side of basketball and becoming part-owner of the London Lions of the British Basketball League.

While the details of the deal have not been disclosed, it probably won't cost the London native too much against his estimated career earnings of $43.037 million considering the company 777 Partners bought 45% of the entire league for $8.68 million in December 2021.

This has all the makings of a feel-good story about an NBA player coming back to his hometown and meaningfully participating in the basketball community there. Except this time there's a twist: the London Lions are a really, really good basketball team capable of helping Anunoby fill up his trophy case. In 2019, Anunoby became the first British player to win an NBA championship.

Last season the Lions went 30-4 with a +510 point differential on the way to a BBL title. The next best team was 24-10 with a +229 mark.

While most North American fans aren't familiar with BBL basketball, they might remember some of the names on this squad, including three former NBA players: Sam Dekker, Kousta Koufos and Miye Oni.

That trio has logged 967 games at the sport's highest level with Dekker suiting up for the Toronto Raptors as recently as 2021-22. Dekker — the team's leading scorer — played in one game alongside Anunoby on Oct. 27, 2021.

Toronto Raptors forward O.G. Anunoby is now a minority owner of the London Lions. (Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports)
Toronto Raptors forward O.G. Anunoby is now a minority owner of the London Lions. (Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports)

There is also another Raptors connection on the team in the form of Tomislav Zubčić, one of the team's second-round picks in 2012.

Koufos is the club's most accomplished player with 686 NBA games under his belt, highlighted by a 2012-13 season that saw make 81 starts for the Denver Nuggets.

This squad isn't filled with international superstars, but there are some real ballers on the Lions and perhaps Anunoby's investment and influence can take the team to even greater heights.

For most basketball fans, the most pertinent example of a player owner is Michael Jordan down in Charlotte. We like Anunoby's chances to top his career winning percentage of .413 with this group.