The New York Knicks have been playing like one of the best teams in the NBA in the month of January. But, for whatever the reason may be, players on the team are still seemingly flying under the radar.
A campaign has been put together on social media to get Jalen Brunson into the All-Star game, something people in the media still are hesitant to do. Brunson, continually underestimated, is playing like a bonafide star.
At the very least, he should be named to his first All-Star Game this season. He deserves to be a starter, but in recent voting tallies, he had a lot of work to do in that regard. Brunson was moving up the list for backcourt starters, but he had a lot of ground to make up.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: OG Anunoby & New York Knicks Updates
The Knicks’ emerging star point guard isn’t the only player on the team who should be receiving some accolades at the end of the season. Their new starting small forward, OG Anunoby, is also putting together a strong case to be the Defensive Player of the Year winner.
Part of the reason New York acquired him from the Toronto Raptors and has been attempting to land him for a while now, is the impact he has defensively. He is one of the best defenders in the NBA and calling the bright lights of Madison Square Garden home should get more eyes on him than he had while playing for the Raptors.
Standing 6’7” with a 7’2” wingspan, Anunoby is as versatile as they come on the defensive end of the court. As shown in the video in the post from The Dunk Central, via IQFor3, no matter who he is matched up with, Anunoby is going to give them fits.
Every night he is going to be matched up with the opponent’s No. 1 option offensively. Whether it is a guard, wing player or forward, Anunoby is assigned to them. Even in today’s positionless NBA, that kind of successful versatility is rare.
There are players big enough and athletic enough to defend multiple positions, but they are unable to get the job done. No matter what the assignment is, Anunoby is going to succeed. In some cases, he can even play small-ball center, providing Knicks’ head coach Tom Thibodeau with flexibility and maneuverability when it comes to his lineups.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: OG Anunoby & New York Knicks Updates
Anunoby led the NBA with 1.9 steals per game in the 2022-23 season and was named to the All-Defensive Second Team. He should be in the conversation for one of the All-Defensive First Team spots this year and is a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
The proof is in the pudding and there is no denying the impact he has had on the Knicks. In 12 games with the team, in which they have gone 10-2, Anunoby has recorded a positive plus/minus ratio. In those 12 games, he is +201.
On the season, he is 20th in the NBA in plus/minus at +238. That means in his short time with the Knicks, Anunoby has recorded a plus/minus ratio that rivals most of the NBA for the entirety of the 2023-24 season in a fraction of the games played.
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