Anunoby was not an immediate star in high school. He didn't play var- sity his freshman year and saw very little action his sophomore year. “We always used to tease him in high school,” Salmon said with a smile, “because he used to have a crouched-over type posture. We said if he stood up straight, he'd probably be about 6-9.” Anunoby grew several inches from his freshman year to his junior
year, but never got to 6-9. He topped out at 6-5 in his All-State senior season with the Jays when he averaged 19 points and nine rebounds a game. And he was starting to develop an outside game, three-point shot,
and mid-range jumper instead of always taking it to the hoop and dunking over mere mortal high schoolers. In October of his senior year, Anunoby chose to attend Indiana
University over Georgia, Iowa, George Mason, and Ole Miss. Notice Missouri wasn't even in the running, because they didn't show much interest. After two years at Indiana, he decided to turn pro, and the deci-
Andre Salmon and OG Anunoby
Ogugua (OG) Anunoby was born in London, England, on July 17, 1997, to father Ogugua Sr. and mother Grace Ndidi Okereke. Sadly, his mom died of cancer when OG was only one, and when he was four, his father moved the family to Jefferson City, where he became a professor of finance at Lincoln.
The father instilled a great discipline in OG, along with the impor-
tance of being on time and being respectful in everything he does. It shows. Anunoby took those things to heart, and it's made him the man he is today. “He was raised well; they did a great job of making him a person
who knows how to handle himself not only on the court, but off the court as well,” Salmon said. 'That's why you don't see any emotions out of him on the court, that's why you don't see any facial expres- sions or body language from him. He's a very respectful young man. “He's a very, very intelligent person, and he handles himself very well. He's very straightforward with the way he does things.” OG isn't the only professional athlete in the family. His older broth-
er, Chigbo, played in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, and Minnesota Vikings. The football bug got to his younger brother, too, and OG played the sport when he was growing up. But he stopped in grade school to focus more on basketball because of his height.
8 /// November 2025
sion was the correct one — he was selected by the Toronto Raptors in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2017 NBA Draft and was part of the 2019 championship team. “I always liked Toronto,” the 6-7 Anunoby said. “I always felt a connection; it was a family environment. They really cared about me, my whole family, and they just really believed in me that I could be something special.” He averaged six and seven points in his first two seasons with
the Raptors, but then something started to change. While his de- fense continued to be great, his offensive numbers started rising significantly. OG averaged 11 points in his third season, then 16 and 17 points the next two. “Being a role player on some really good teams, that was a con- fidence builder for him,” Salmon said. “Then all of a sudden, they wanted him to be more of a scorer. That was more of a motivational tool for himself, to know that he can do this high-level play just like these other players.” Midway through the 2023-24 season, Anunoby was traded to the
Knicks. They obviously loved what they saw, because last summer they signed him to a five-year, $212 million contract. Talk about the hometown kid making good. “I'm extremely, extremely proud of him,” Salmon said. “I just knew
that his capabilities have always been there. He's worked so hard, he deserves this.” Knowing OG, he probably blushed when he signed that contract.
“Once you believe in yourself, anything can happen,” he said. “You have to believe in yourself. If you don’t, then you’ve already lost.
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