NBA Europe will take UK to another level - Anunoby
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- NBA Europe is planned for an October 2027 launch with between 12 and 16 European teams, with London and Manchester expected to be included.
- Franchise bids for target host cities ranged from $500m to $1bn (£372m-£745m) per city, with the final bid deadline closing in June and team identities expected to begin being announced this year.
- OG Anunoby told BBC Sport the league will take UK basketball 'to another level,' saying growth in London and Manchester is 'amazing' and 'exciting.'
- Laura Pinnell, the NBA's vice-president of Consumer Group and head of marketing for Europe and the Middle East, called the UK 'one of the biggest opportunities' in the entire NBA Europe project.
- Anunoby is investing his own money in a grassroots court development in Camden, London, during his off-season visit to his birth city.
- Anunoby and the Knicks are targeting back-to-back NBA titles, a feat no team has achieved since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018, with the NBA producing eight different champions in as many years.
- Anunoby forms part of a UK quartet in the NBA alongside the Portland Trail Blazers' Jeremy Sochan, the Boston Celtics' Amari Williams, and Tobi Lawal, who is set to make his NBA debut with the Dallas Mavericks this season.
Why it matters: The $500m-$1bn per-franchise price tag attached to NBA Europe's bidding process makes the UK one of the league's most valuable expansion markets, with London and Manchester specifically named as target cities. Anunoby's personal grassroots investment in Camden courts shows NBA stars are putting money behind UK basketball's growth — not just cheering from the sidelines.
