Knicks take issue with OG Anunoby missing out on NBA defensive first team: 'He got robbed'
OG Anunoby of the Knicks rebounds the ball against Jarrett Allen of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first quarter in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Rocket Arena on Saturday in Cleveland. Credit: Getty Images/Gregory Shamus
CLEVELAND — As OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns finished off their postgame media session Saturday night, Towns had one final message for the assembled media, noting, “No one wants to ask OG about second team? He’s All-Defense, like, c’mon, bro. He’s one of the best defenders in the world, and he got robbed of first team.”
Anunoby just got up from the table and turned away as Towns made his case. Mike Brown took up the argument Sunday, again without prompting.
“I got one more thing before I’m taking off,” Brown said. “You guys can all print this. Great players out there. I’m not discounting anybody, but freakin’ OG got robbed. He should’ve been first-team All- Defense. First-team All-Defense.
“The versatility he brings to this team — we’re a top-five defensive team. Top-five defensive team, OK? The versatility that he brings — and everybody always says, ‘Oh, you got KAT. You got Jalen. Blah, blah, blah.’
“The versatility that that guy brings to this team is off the charts, and I hope the voters get it right the next time around. I’m happy he’s second team. He deserves something, but it was wrong.”
The only one who didn’t make an impassioned plea was Anunoby, and that might explain why he has gotten little national acclaim despite his defensive impact. Anunoby doesn’t boast. He doesn’t really enjoy speaking publicly beyond a friendly greeting as he passes, usually hoping to avoid the interview that might follow.
“It was cool to get the recognition,” Anunoby said Sunday as the Knicks prepared for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night. “Any time you’re recognized by coaches and the media, it’s really cool. The second team is cool. I was hoping I got first team, I thought I should have gotten first team. But second team is good.
“Every recognition is good. First team, second team. There’s a lot of good defenders in the league, so to be recognized as one of the 10 premier ones is really cool in itself. Just happy. Now I’m just focused on the rest of the playoffs.”
Anunoby is hard to quantify if you don’t watch him every day, see the impact he has every night. He doesn’t rank among the league leaders in blocked shots or steals, but he can defend any player from point guards to centers. As you watch the Western Conference Finals and wonder about the Knicks’ next opponent, consider that he has done a better job on Victor Wembanyama than any other defender, including 7-footers. He often doesn’t get the statistics because his presence is a deterrent.
“I mean, yeah, he’s well deserving of it,” Brunson said. “He’s been tremendous obviously defensively. Him being able to guard one through five on any given night has really been a big part of who we are and what we’re allowed to do on defense because of him. And so like you said, any publicity is good publicity, but I think he was well deserving of that first team.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
