NEW YORK (AP) — OG Anunoby will stay with the New York Knicks on a five-year contract worth more than $210 million, a person with knowledge of the details said Wednesday.
Keeping the swingman was a priority for the Knicks after they flourished when Anunoby was in the lineup after arriving in December in a trade with Toronto.
The deal was first reported by ESPN, which said Anunoby's deal would be worth $212.5 million. The person confirmed the details to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract is not yet official.
The deal comes a day after the Knicks agreed to acquire Mikal Bridges in a trade from the Brooklyn Nets and means New York will have two top defensive players on the wings. Anunoby led the NBA in steals in the 2022-23 season.
The Knicks went 20-3 with Anunoby in the lineup in the regular season after sending RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to the Raptors, and outscored their opponents while Anunoby was on the floor in every one of those games.
They were up 2-0 on Indiana in the Eastern Conference semifinals before he had to miss the next four games after injuring his hamstring while scoring a career playoff-high 28 points in Game 2. Anunoby attempted to return in Game 7 but was still hurt and left quickly in the Knicks' eventual loss.
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FILE - New York Knicks' OG Anunoby (8) runs up the court after hitting a shot against the Indiana Pacers during the first half of Game 2 in an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, May 8, 2024, in New York. Anunoby intends to stay with the Knicks on a five-year contract worth more than $200 million, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — About 15,000 people attended the annual EuroPride parade Saturday, police said, in support of the LGBTQ+ community in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki amid a heavy police presence.
The parade, whose motto is “Persevere, Progress, Prosper,” was staged on the ninth and last day of a series of events across the city. It was to be followed later Saturday by a concert and a series of parties.
“This participation from across Europe sends a message,” parade participant Michalis Filippidis told the Associated Press. “It is very very good. We are all united like a fist and, despite many things happening, we are all here to fight for our rights."
Participants marched through the city center, ending up at the city’s waterfront, at the statue of Alexander the Great, the most famous ruler of the ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedonia. The nearby White Tower, once part of the city’s fortifications but now a standalone monument, emblematic of the city, was dressed in the colors of the rainbow.
There was a heavy police presence to prevent counterdemonstrations. In the end, police said, 15 people were detained for shouting obscenities at parade participants and, in one case, trying to throw eggs at them. Police prevented them from getting too close to parade participants.
Some Greek participants in the parade chanted at the counterdemonstrators: “For every racist and homophobe, there is a place in Thermaikos,” the gulf on whose shores the city is built.
A 34-year-old man who had called for an anti-gay demonstration, despite the police’s ban on such an action, was arrested and will appear in court Monday on charges of inciting disobedience and disturbing the peace. He was visited in prison by the head of Niki, an ultra-religious political party, one of three far-right parties that elected representatives to the European Parliament in elections earlier in June.
Nationalism and religious fervor are more pronounced in Thessaloniki and other northern Greek areas than the rest of the country. The far right’s strong showing in elections was in part due to passage earlier in the year of a law legalizing same-sex marriage. The law, strongly backed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, was opposed by nearly a third of the lawmakers from his conservative New Democracy party, and was backed by much of the left opposition, with the exception of the Communists, who voted against.
The EuroPride parade had strong official backing. The city was a co-sponsor and several foreign ambassadors attended.
“I am proud to be here ... for EuroPride 2024,” said U.S. Ambassador to Greece George Tsunis. “This is about human dignity, this is about acceptance, this is about love, this is about equality. And, frankly, we need more love, more acceptance, more kindness in this world.”
“I am here to show our support for diversity and equality for all. You are who you are and you can love who you love,” said Dutch Ambassador to Greece Susanna Terstal.
“I welcome the ambassadors ... and all the participants to Thessaloniki, a multicolored, friendly city that considers human rights non-negotiable,” said Mayor Stelios Angeloudis.
Next year's EuroPride will take place in Lisbon.
Associated Press writer Demetris Nellas contributed to this report from Athens. Greece
Revellers take part in EuroPride, a pan-European international LGBTI event featuring a Pride parade which is hosted in a different European city each year, in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Revellers take part in EuroPride, a pan-European international LGBTI event featuring a Pride parade which is hosted in a different European city each year, in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
A reveller takes part in EuroPride, a pan-European international LGBTI event featuring a Pride parade which is hosted in a different European city each year, in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
A reveller takes part in EuroPride, a pan-European international LGBTI event featuring a Pride parade which is hosted in a different European city each year, in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
A reveller takes part in EuroPride, a pan-European international LGBTI event featuring a Pride parade which is hosted in a different European city each year, in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Revellers gather in front of the White Tower during EuroPride, a pan-European international LGBTI event featuring a Pride parade which is hosted in a different European city each year, in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
A reveller takes part in EuroPride, a pan-European international LGBTI event featuring a Pride parade which is hosted in a different European city each year, in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Revellers take part in EuroPride, a pan-European international LGBTI event featuring a Pride parade which is hosted in a different European city each year, in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Revellers gather in front of the White Tower during EuroPride, a pan-European international LGBTI event featuring a Pride parade which is hosted in a different European city each year, in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
