OG Anunoby is more than just a champion for the New York Knicks — he’s also an advocate for shelter cats.
Days after helping the Knicks end a 53-year title drought, Anunoby, who will soon also be getting his own Sketchers shoe, launched "OG's Starting Five" — a partnership with Royal Canin, VCA Animal Hospitals, and Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) — which aims to find homes for five adoptable cats pulled from the city's largest shelter system.
Anunoby, who’s a cat lover himself, personally chose five cats from ACC, naming them Penne, Sammy, Roxie, Damu, and Lil Leo. So far, three of the cats have found new homes.
The campaign moved fast. Three of the five cats were adopted within days of the launch. "This really made it possible for this cat to be adopted," Katy Hansen, director of communications for the Animal Care Centers of NYC, said in a statement. "And who knows how many people came in thinking they were going to meet one of those five, and then they ended up adopting another cat."
To sweeten the deal for adopters, each person who takes home one of the Starting Five gets a year of free Royal Canin pet food and a year of complimentary, unlimited wellness exams from VCA Animal Hospitals.
Royal Canin went further, committing to donate 50,000 pounds of pet food, valued at $300,000, to shelters nationwide through Greater Good Charities in Anunoby's name.
Hansen credited the broader pull of athlete-driven advocacy for the campaign's early traction. "I think having athletes who so many people respect and hero worship talking about adoptions is going to get other people to start talking about adoption," she said. "Especially young kids... The more people that talk about adoption, the better off we'll be because shelters around the country are at crisis level."
Hansen also noted the initiative carries momentum beyond just five cats. "OG has been inspiring New Yorkers all season long, and now he's helping create life-changing moments for shelter pets," she said.
Two cats from the Starting Five, Sammy (a 4-year-old male) and Roxie (a 5-pound, 6-year-old orange-and-white female), remain available through ACC.
Anunoby's Finals run gave him extra credibility to command New York's attention. He averaged 21.2 points and 4.8 rebounds over five games against the San Antonio Spurs, including a tip-in game-winner with 1.2 seconds left in Game 4 that completed a 29-point comeback for a 107-106 victory.
