Knicks 2024 In Review: OG Anunoby

Newly-minted free agent OG Anunoby changed the course of the New York Knicks' season upon arriving in late December.

Jan 25, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) during the third quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics’ victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals officially completed the 2023-24 season, tipping off what’s sure to be a fateful offseason.

That particularly applies to the New York Knicks, who are fresh off their most successful season in over a decade. Despite falling to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Knicks are no doubt in their most legitimately hopeful era in quite some time… making this offseason even more crucial from a metropolitan perspective. 

In recognition of the road ahead, All Knicks takes a look at the current Knicks roster player-by-player. The list continues with OG ANUNOBY …

Player: OG Anunoby
Finished Season: 6th (1st with Knicks)
Key Stats (With Knicks): 14.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals

2023-24 In Review

Anunoby was part of the Toronto Raptors' continued purge of its 2019 championship group, sent to the Knicks in the late December deal that cost New York its homegrown franchise faces RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. The veteran had built a sterling defensive reputation in Ontario ... when he was playing, of course. Anunoby missed the aforementioned red run to the Finals with and played more than 50 games just once in the prior three seasons.

But Anunoby put the "V" in MVP in the purest way possible: wins. The Knicks posted a 20-3 record in the regular season when Anunoby took the floor, a mark that no doubt helped secure the second seed on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. Anunboy's defensive impact was immediately made apparent via a mere flip of the calendar.

During the conclusion of the year 2023, the Knicks ranked 20th in defensive rating and were letting up nearly 114 points per game. Once the ball dropped in Times Square, likewise did those from the hands of opponents at Madison Square Garden: the Knicks leaped all the way up to third in defensive rating and held opponents to less than 100 points on 16 occasions, tops in the Association in the new year.

Alas, those injury woes also followed Anunoby from Toronto: he missed sizable stretches of winter/early spring games with an elbow ailment before shoulder woes ate away at his postseason. The season was perhaps macabrely defined by its final hours, which saw Anunoby try to play in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Indiana Pacers but he was forced to leave after the opening stanzas, partly dooming the Knicks to a 130-109 loss.

Highlight of the Year

No one defined the sense of "team of destiny" the Knicks carried through the spring better than Anunoby, the ringer who flipped the team's fortunes. He fully fulfilled that role in Game 2 of the conference semifinals, which perhaps brought many living Knicks as close as they've ever been to that championship feeling.

While Anunoby was always meant to be a complementary piece, he took over the Knicks in starring fashion ... and wound up saving the best for last. With Brunson relegated to the locker room and the Knicks seemingly on edge, Anunoby broke loose for 28 points in what became a 130-121 triumph that gave New York a 2-0 series lead. He himself was likewise injured but one precious night, he provided a tantalizing taste of championship action to a long-beleaguered fanbase.

They Said It

"He’s a multiple-effort guy. There’s not anything he doesn’t do well. He runs the floor great, knows how to move without the ball, can shoot, can post, can drive, can cut."-Tom Thibodeau on Anunoby's offensive prowess (Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News)

"I feel like (I’m making a difference), even plays that don’t go on the stat sheet, little stuff, a steal here and there, a block or a contest or a closeout that forces a bad shot, little stuff that doesn’t get noticed. I try to do all those other things.”-Anunoby on his fit in New York (Eric Koreen, The Athletic)

What’s Next

Anunoby is the headliner of the Knicks' first fallen domino of the offseason: Monday reports revealed that Anunoby would decline the $19.9 player option that came south with him from Ontario, officially opening the door to negotiators. While Josh Hart's acceptance of a similar caveat (en route to a lengthy extension) might've gotten Knicks' fans hopes up, Anunoby's refusal was well expected.

With that being said, things seem to be trending in favor of Anunoby's continued donning of his No. 8 uniform in New York: as if his client's film and the scoreboards he created didn't make things easy enough, Sam Rose, the son of Knicks president Leon, is part of Anunoby's representation group. Anunoby is likely due a big payday, so it probably wouldn't be wise to expect a hometown discount, but it certainly does give the Knicks a slight edge in the negotiations.

Anunoby is perhaps the definition of the concept of the Knicks losing even when they win: critics will surely whine about his injury history if he's re-signed while his win-loss impact is too great to justify letting him walk. Having said that, it's quite meaningful, in a positive way, that the reaction of Anunoby analysts is relatively high on the totem pole of metropolitan hardwood issues this offseason.

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