OG Anunoby added a Goldilocks-esque trio of performances to his up-and-down season this week. His recent 34-point, 7-rebound, 5-assist, 4-steal masterclass against the Denver Nuggets on Friday was followed up by a 13-point dud against the Lakers, and then a "just-right" 22-point showing against the Clippers.
The range of the performances, from star-level in Denver to ups and downs in Hollywood, begged a simple question: just how good is Anunoby?
A quick investigation reveals that Anunoby's impact might be greater than most fans think. He's known as a formidable defensive force, but has caught "Defensive Player of the Year" shouts in recent Mike Brown press conferences for a reason. He's bringing more consistency to the table on that end of the floor in recent weeks.
Anunoby's offense is pretty good overall, too, with NBA-favorite advanced analytic EPM (estimated plus-minus) declaring the wing's overall impact as being in the NBA's 92nd percentile. 8% of the NBA isn't many players in reality. How many of them are truly better than Anunoby?
The best in the NBA: Tier 1 (The Lottery of Superstars)
In trying to set aside a large-enough group of top talent that there wouldn't be precedent for dozens of tiers, 14 players stood out above the rest. Call it a reverse lottery, the cream of the crop, or anything else – but these guys are top of their class.
In whatever order is pleasing to the reader: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Victor Wembanyama, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Haliburton, Stephen Curry, and Tyrese Maxey are the NBA's absolute best players.
Anunoby doesn't have a conventional argument against any of these players, just yet. They're mostly top offensive options on their teams that have led successful, or at least several deep, playoff runs.
The best in the NBA: Tier 2 (Perennial All-Stars)
There are many more than 14 stars in the league, especially as players are able to build their own brands more easily with social media and its accessibility. However, there are many NBA All-Stars that are, or could easily be, #1 options on good teams.
Even though these players may not be leading top contenders, or impacting the game on both ends of the floor at a superstar level, they're often honored with All-Star appearances for good reason.
There are also the two integral members of last year's championship-winning OKC Thunder that don't quite have superstar billing yet, but deserve to be part of this group until somebody dethrones their squad.
Those players, the top-tier #2 options that can do it as a #1, but seem better-suited to a more Robin-like role, would be: James Harden, Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Jalen Williams, Pascal Siakam, Jaylen Brown, Jamal Murray, Chet Holmgren, and Anthony Davis.
That's 25 players thus far. If health was guaranteed, most – if not every – NBA general manager would likely take over Anunoby tomorrow for a hypothetical Game 7.
After that, though, things start to get fun in the case of New York's talented wing.
The best in the NBA: Tier 3 (Flawed Stars, Star-impact 'Role Players')
For Anunoby to be one of the league's 30-best players as a result of this brief exercise, he needs to beat out all but four of the rest of the guys out there.
With the acknowledgement that at least one player has been unfairly excluded because of author error and that said author will inevitably be haunted by this unintentional, but still hurtful in spirit, exclusion: 17 players, aside from Anunoby, stood out to this author as having candidacy for the "next tier" of stars.
Kyrie Irving, De'Aaron Fox, Trae Young, Ja Morant, Austin Reaves, Derrick White, LaMelo Ball, Desmond Bane, LeBron James, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, Lauri Markkanen, Evan Mobley, Bam Adebayo, Alperen Sengun, Jaren Jackson Jr., Rudy Gobert, and OG Anunoby himself.
At this point, it's about peaks and valleys; availability or ability; and, honestly, personal preference. Irving, Young, Morant, Reaves, Ball, James, Banchero, Markkanen, Sengun, Adebayo, and Gobert are all excellent on at least one side of the basketball. But their body of work on the other end of the floor makes Anunoby an interesting foe in these rankings.
If a team doesn't have a top ball handler or scorer, those players all stand out as better fits than Anunoby. But, to cross sports for a moment, do the draft's top quarterbacks get taken with the earliest picks because they're the best players? Or because of the scarcity of franchise players at that position?
The best in the NBA: The Conclusion
Lead options worthy of shouldering the "franchise player" title are hard to come by in any sport, including basketball. If a team already has a top option or two, though, Anunoby would present as a "better player" to add to that squad than a ball dominant guard, for example.
That leaves just six players aside from the Knicks wing from that final list, in Fox, White, Bane, Wagner, Mobley, and Jackson Jr. There is room for four of those six on the list, but two have to walk the plank for Anunoby to secure a spot.
When the two-way force is on, he has an argument to be the best player of the entire group of seven. Jackson Jr. can make a similar claim. Fox, when cooking offensively, might belong in Tier 2. And despite having similar averages to last season, Anunoby's inconsistency has been more noticeable on a month-by-month this year.
Even so, that doesn't disqualify him from this conversation. It just means that the wing has to deliver a strong postseason showing to affirm himself as being at the top of this third tier.
The Knicks have a top-tier guy in Brunson and an offensively-devastating #2 option in Towns. Anunoby is right on the edge of being a top-30 player as a result of this for-fun exercise, even if he's currently on the outside looking in.
But that can change quickly – especially if he cements himself as a playoff hero amid the high-pressure title chase in New York City.