Anunoby the catalyst that makes other Knicks work together

WASHINGTON — It was a year to the day that the Knicks shocked the basketball world by completing a deal on December 30, 2023 to obtain OG Anunoby.  It transformed the team into a championship contender.

The Knicks were 20-3 with Anunoby in the lineup in the regular season last year and 6-2 in the playoffs before he tried to come back for less than five minutes in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Indiana. The injured Anunoby was limping badly and unable to run the floor and was taken out.  But this season Anunoby has not missed a game  and the Knicks have compiled a 22-10 record entering Monday’s meeting with the Washington Wizards.

In the games Anunoby missed after the trade last season, the Knicks were 13-14 in the regular season and 1-4 in the playoffs (including that Game 7 loss).

So it might be easy to compare his arrival to the deal that brought Dave DeBusschere to the Knicks ahead of their two championships. It’s not that simple, but the comparison is real since the two players served a similar role, not as the star, but as the piece that made all the others work together.

“It’s hard to say because there were a lot of variables,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “When OG came in he basically came in and he got a month and then he was out. So there were a lot of factors that went into it. He obviously contributed a lot and made us different but then we had Mitch [Mitchell Robinson] go out and Isaiah [Hartenstein] stepped in. So there were a lot of factors. Donte [DiVincenzo] stepped into a role. Josh [Hart] stepped into a role. So there were a lot of things that happened simultaneously.”

Still, the record says what you are and 48-15 with Anunoby and 14-17 without him since the trade tells you something was happening when he was in the lineup.

“I would say it’s also a byproduct of those other guys, too,” Thibodeau said. “Them working together. It’s a lot of things and I think that’s the biggest thing. Their willingness to sacrifice for each other for the betterment of the team is what makes them unique and good as a team. It’s important to recognize that. Obviously having a long wing like that that can defend five positions is unique. When we made the commitment to play that way everyone thought the rebounding would go out the window because you’re undersized. But it hasn’t gone out the window and that’s because of Josh’s unique skill set. Then you get a guy like [Karl-Anthony Towns] who’s an elite rebounder. Then the rebounding’s there, too.”

It is defense that is Anunoby’s calling card, a stopper who can guard anyone from a 6-foot speedy point guard to the ridiculously tall and skilled Victor Wembanyama. But he also has made the offense work by not requiring the ball like Julius Randle did. Anunoby is content to knock in corner three-pointers or serve as a cutter to the rim while Jalen Brunson orchestrates the offense. He is one of the four Knicks to already record a 40-point game this season.

His defensive prowess also allows the Knicks to thrive with Brunson and Towns, neither an elite defender, taking advantage of their immense offensive skills while providing cover on the other end.

“That’s OG,” Mikal Bridges said this week. “That’s who he is.  Any size, any guy, he can guard from a point guard to the tallest dude in the NBA. Just a credit to OG, how he works and how he guards.”

“Every player has different strengths and weaknesses and so fulfill your team responsibilities first and then we want you to be yourself, you know, and to play to your strengths,” Thibodeau said. “And that’s a big part of winning. Don’t try to do things that you’re not good at. And I think when you get a team to understand that, everyone’s good at something. So OG is elite at what he does. And Jalen’s elite at what he does, and the challenge is for everyone to bring the best out of each other.

“So it does require sacrifice when you have four guys like we do. But just embrace that and prioritize the winning part, and that takes a commitment by everybody. And if you prioritize the team and winning first, I think there’s enough for everybody. When you win everyone gets recognized and that’s the best part of of being a team. And we’re lucky because our veterans, they have humility and they do put the team first. And they care and they’re happy when someone else has success on a given night.”