Precious Achiuwa is somewhat of an undersized center. With Isaiah Hartenstein signing with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the New York Knicks had a clear need for center depth. That is especially more true because starting center Mitchell Robinson has a lengthy history of missing action due to injury. Jericho Sims is also on the team, but he hasn’t shown enough to be more than an end-of-the-bench player.
Listed at six-foot-eight and 225 pounds, Achiuwa eventually did re-sign with the Knicks. About a month into free agency, the 24-year-old agreed on a one-year deal worth $6 million to remain with New York. While head coach Tom Thibodeau normally likes playing a rim-protecting big man for all 48 minutes, he grew comfortable playing the hard-nosed Achiuwa in the middle.
Achiuwa has shown no fear even when faced with much larger centers such as Nikola Jokic or Joel Embiid, who Achiuwa guarded at times in the Knicks first round matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers last season. Why would he be afraid of another human when he has no worries in the presence of the king of the jungle?
Fearless Precious Achiuwa Posts Video Walking With Lions
Lions, Tigers, Bears, Oh My
It is safe to say that the majority of the human race would be completely overcome with fear if they were to encounter a lion in the open. Most of them would probably see their life flash before their eyes and expect that they have reached their final day on earth. Precious Achiuwa is not the majority of the human race and is clearly built different.
On his Instagram, Achiuwa posted a short video of him just casually walking with two lions. He made it seem as simple as walking dogs, using their tails as a leash.
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A four-year NBA veteran, Achiuwa was recently in Zambia for a training camp for kids. According to Zambian Sport, he is the first NBA player from the Knicks to come there to do so.
Achiuwa was born in Nigeria before moving to the United States during his early teenage years. According to Punch Newspapers in 2022, there are less than 50 lions in Nigeria. They are located in two places: Kanji-Lake National Park and Yankari Game Reserve. It is unclear how Achiuwa became so comfortable being around lions.
Expected To Be Key Reserve Once Again
After being acquired by the Knicks in late December last year, Achiuwa appeared in 49 regular season games (18 starts). Playing 24.2 minutes per contest, he posted averages of 7.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks. His most productive outing came on Valentine’s Day when Achiuwa finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists against the Orlando Magic. He was out of the rotation when the playoffs began, but re-entered once Robinson’s ankle shut him down. In nine playoff games (two starts), Achiuwa averaged 5.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks.
Turning 25 on September 19, Achiuwa played one season with Memphis before entering the NBA Draft. In 2020, the Miami Heat selected him with the 20th overall pick. After one season with Miami, he was traded to the Raptors along with Goran Dragic in exchange for Kyle Lowry.
