John Amaechi is a British-American former professional basketball player. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Stockport, England. He played college basketball at Vanderbilt University and Penn State University before being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 1995 NBA Draft. He went on to play for the Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz, and Houston Rockets in the NBA. Amaechi is known for his philanthropic work, having founded the Amaechi Basketball Centre in Manchester, England, and the Amaechi Basketball Academy in the United States. He is also a motivational speaker and author, having written the book Man in the Middle, which chronicles his life and career. He is also a broadcaster, having worked for ESPN, the BBC, and Sky Sports. Amaechi was inducted into the British Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020. He was also the first NBA player to come out as gay, doing so in 2007. He is an advocate for LGBT rights and has been a vocal critic of homophobia in sports.