OG Anunoby joins the likes of Michael Jordan and Dwyane Wade to venture into world of basketball team ownership

OG Anunoby has a bright future in front of him with the Toronto Raptors, but it also looks like he is focused on becoming a successful businessman and a basketball team owner.

Back in April, the Raptors forward became a part owner of the London Lions of the British Basketball League, a league that has been growing in popularity in recent years, even though it is not considered one of the top in Europe. Over the last 10 years, the Lions have won the BBL Cup in 2019 and 2023 and have reached the postseason final in three of the last four full seasons.

In April, the Lions became the first British team to qualify for the EuroCup playoffs. OG Anunoby wants the team to grow immensely in the coming years.

“It’s great to see everything that is going on in British basketball right now, which is why I am really excited to join the London Lions,” Anunoby said in a statement. “I just want to do my part as a role model to all the young hoopers in London and across the entire UK. I look forward to visiting the team in the off-season and can’t wait to help build with the organisation.”

The British small forward joined private equity firm 777 Partners, which owns the Lions and seeks to help BBL uplift and fill an investment gap left by the UK government.

Juan Arciniegas, 777 Partners' managing director, told Front Office Sports, citing a lack of government investment:

“It blows our mind that basketball isn’t bigger in London, and we know the reasons why.”

OG Anunoby joins NBA stars in becoming owner of basketball team

A 2019 NBA champion with the Toronto Raptors, OG Anunoby is not the first international player to invest in a team overseas. Yao Ming was the owner of the Shanghai Sharks of the CBA, while Tony Parker is still running ASVEL Villeurbanne, which competes in the French League and the EuroLeague.

Anunoby, whose four-year, $72 million contract with the Raptors is guaranteed through next season with a player option for 2024/25, was born in London. He joins the likes of the legendary Michael Jordan and Dwyane Wade, who have also invested in teams over the years.

Wade, who retired from the NBA in 2019, has joined the ownership groups for the NBA's Utah Jazz and the MLS' Real Salt Lake. A three-time NBA champion and 13-time All-Star, Wade is also joining the WNBA's Chicago Sky ownership group, becoming the latest superstar to invest in the WNBA, even though his exact ownership percentage has not been disclosed.

For his part, Michael Jordan was running the Charlotte Hornets for 13 years, but he has now decided to sell the franchise's majority share. Jordan is selling to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, the Hornets said. Plotkin has been a minority stakeholder in the Hornets since 2019. Schnall has been a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks since 2015 and is in the process of selling his investment in that team.

Jordan bought the team in 2010 for about $275 million and is now planning to keep a minority stake in Charlotte. His decision to sell ends his unsuccessful 13-year run overseeing the franchise, as Charlotte went 423-600 in his 13 seasons in charge, never won a playoff series in that time, and missed the playoffs in the last seven years.

With that in mind, let's see how successful Anunoby, a London native, will be as the Lions' part-owner and whether he will make the team one of the best in European basketball.