All About OG Anunoby’s Late Parents, Dad Ogugua Sr. and Mom Grace Samantha StutsmanWed, June 10, 2026 at 11:30 PM UTC 0 OG Anunoby 8 of the New York Knicks during Game Three of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 8, 2026 in New York.Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty OG Anunoby was born to Nigerian parents, Ogugua Chigbogu Damian Anunoby Sr. and Grace Ndidi Okereke, in 1997 The NBA star is one of seven children Grace died of cancer in 1998, and Ogugua Sr. died in 2018 — a year after OG was drafted into the NBA New York Knicks star Ogugua "OG" Anunoby Jr.
All About OG Anunoby’s Late Parents, Dad Ogugua Sr. and Mom Grace
Samantha StutsmanWed, June 10, 2026 at 11:30 PM UTC
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OG Anunoby #8 of the New York Knicks during Game Three of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 8, 2026 in New York.Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty -
OG Anunoby was born to Nigerian parents, Ogugua Chigbogu Damian Anunoby Sr. and Grace Ndidi Okereke, in 1997
The NBA star is one of seven children
Grace died of cancer in 1998, and Ogugua Sr. died in 2018 — a year after OG was drafted into the NBA
New York Knicks star Ogugua "OG" Anunoby Jr. was raised by a single father who helped shape both his character and his basketball career.
OG was born on July 17, 1997, to Nigerian parents, Ogugua Chigbogu Damian Anunoby Sr. and Grace Ndidi Okereke, who married in London in 1988. After Grace died of cancer in 1998, when OG was just 1 year old, his father took on the responsibility of raising him and his six siblings.
"It was tough not having a mother, but my dad did a really good job raising us," Anunoby told Sportsnet after being selected in the 2017 NBA Draft.
The family settled in Jefferson City, Mo., where Ogugua Sr. worked as a professor at Lincoln University. A firm believer in education, he required his son to read for an hour each night, but he also encouraged OG's athletic pursuits from an early age.
OG has since emerged as one of the NBA's premier players and helped lead the Knicks to the 2026 NBA Finals.
Here's everything to know about OG Anunoby's late parents.
Grace was an athlete, and Ogugua Sr. was a college professor
OG Anunoby #8 of the New York Knicks during Game Two of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 5, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas.Credit: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty
Ogugua Sr. was born on Aug. 15, 1952, in Akwa Village, Nigeria, according to his obituary. His wife, Grace, was also from Nigeria and competed nationally in track and field.
"Their mother was a champion athlete," Ogugua Sr. told Sportsnet, crediting his late wife for his children's athletic abilities. "She was a sprinter, she was a jumper — she was very competitive."
After earning a bachelor's degree from the University of Nigeria, Ogugua Sr. moved to London for graduate school, where he and Grace later welcomed OG. He went on to earn a master's degree from the University of Strathclyde, an MBA from the University of Glasgow and a Ph.D. from Brunel University of London.
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Throughout his academic career, Ogugua Sr. taught at the University of Lagos and Oxford Brookes University before joining Lincoln University in Missouri, where he served as a professor from 2001 until his death in 2018.
OG has six siblings
Chigbo Anunoby #75 of the Washington Redskins on August 8, 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee; Og Anunoby #8 of the New York Knicks on June 08, 2026 in New York City.Credit: Frederick Breedon/Getty; Al Bello/Getty
OG is one of seven children, including Adaeze, Adaora, Chigbogu "Chigbo," Ogonna, Ifeoma and Olisamaka. According to Ogugua Sr.'s obituary, he was the father of all seven children, though it is unclear whether he shared them all with Grace.
"I do not intend to be immodest, but we tried to raise a proper family," Ogugua Sr. told Sportsnet. "And when I say proper, what I mean is we are people who do things well. We value hard work, order and success. You don't talk unless you have to talk. And if you have to talk, you should say something that doesn't take away from the conversation, but enriches it."
Athletics run in the family. OG's older brother, Chigbo, played defensive tackle at Morehouse College before pursuing a professional football career. After signing with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2012, he spent time with several NFL organizations.
Ogugua Sr. thought OG would be a baseball player
OG Anunoby attends the 2025 Forbes Iconoclast Summit on June 05, 2025 in New York City.Credit: Astrida Valigorsky/Getty
As a child, OG showed promise on the baseball diamond as a pitcher, and his father initially encouraged him to pursue the sport. But basketball soon won OG over.
While speaking to Sportsnet, Ogugua Sr. recalled the future NBA star asking for a basketball hoop for the family's backyard — and not just any hoop. OG had his eye on a top-of-the-line, 12-foot adjustable model that cost several hundred dollars.
"I said to him, 'You have to promise to actually use it. You will make sure that we have value for money,' " Ogugua Sr. said. "It turns out, it was a very good investment."
Grace and Ogugua Sr. died in 1998 and 2018, respectively
Neither of OG's parents lived to see him become an NBA champion with the Toronto Raptors or help lead the Knicks to the NBA Finals. Grace died of cancer on May 12, 1998, when OG was 1 year old, and his father died on Sept. 27, 2018.
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Published: June 11, 2026 at 02:45AM on Source: RED MAG
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