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The London Lions year just keeps on getting better, as they have announced that NBA Star OG Anunoby of the Toronto Raptors is now a minority stakeholder in the club.
This comes at a time of a meteoric rise for not just the Lions, but British Basketball as a whole. The British Basketball League confirmed a record number of attendance across a number of games, including 15,000 when the Lions faced off against the Leicester Riders at the 02. Many have noticed this growth in the British game at the professional level including Anunoby who's ties to the UK run deep.
He was born in Harlesden, North West London and remained in the UK until the age of 4 where he would eventually move to the USA. His basketball journey would take him to Indiana University and then on to the NBA, where he would be drafted 23rd in the 2017 draft with the Raptors and would then go on to win an NBA title in the 2018/2019 season, becoming the first British player to do so.
His journey to the NBA is one he hopes will inspire the next generation of hoopers from his home city, where it's very rare for players to make it all the way to the league that is globally recognised as the best in the world.
"I want to come back, give advice, give little pointers here and there, try and help steer them in the right direction," said Anunoby. "I just want to do my part as a role model to all the young hoopers in London and across the entire UK."
His success and now his part ownership in London's sole professional basketball club are steps to doing just that. In joining majority owners 777 Partners as part of the ownership of the London Lions, Anunoby becomes part of a mission to fill an investment gap left by the UK government for British Basketball, a sport mainly played by those from minority communities. A 2019/2020 survey found that 47% of British people who play basketball are non-white, far more than any other sports in the country. Yet, British Basketball has suffered from a lack of funding all whilst ranking as the second-highest team sport in terms of participation behind football and above sports such as cricket and rugby who in regards to funding, have not suffered the same fate.