You don’t often see a player change their game after a decade in the NBA. The New York Knicks may see someone do so for the second straight season.
Last year, Jordan Clarkson was in his 12th season and revamped his game. He spent some time out of the rotation, but after returning, he attacked the offensive glass and applied full-court pressure like never before.
So far this year, it's been OG Anunoby. Now in his 10th season, his free-throw rate has skyrocketed. He showed that in the first half of Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls, making 11 of his 12 free-throw attempts in the first 24 minutes.
The Knicks haven’t been shooting well this season, but that changed against the Bulls. If their improvement continues—and Anunoby keeps going to the charity stripe—New York’s offense will be scarier than ever.
Anunoby has been living at the foul line of late
Anunoby's free-throw rate increased upon joining the Knicks. After never averaging more than 2.5 attempts per game in any year with the Toronto Raptors, he averaged more than three per game in the last two seasons.
In five of his last seven outings, the 29-year-old has attempted at least eight foul shots. Remarkably, that matches how many times Anunoby attempted eight-plus free throws in 2025-26 over 67 appearances. He is now averaging 6.5 over eight games—nearly double his previous career-high.
Now, Anunoby hasn’t been perfect on offense. His shooting from the field and on threes is way down . He’s also been over-dribbling into the lane, which has increased his turnovers and forced him into bad shots.
Despite the subpar shooting accuracy, Anunoby is averaging just 0.1 points per game less than last season while attempting 0.1 fewer shots per game. That's in large part because he is getting to the line so frequently. He’s also hitting his free throws at a career-best 86.5 percent clip.
3 starters can frequent the foul line, which helps the offense
The Knicks already have Jalen Brunson, who has an innate ability to draw fouls and get to the line. Karl-Anthony Towns’ free-throw attempts are down a bit to start, though he took seven on Wednesday and is still averaging more than four per game.
Anunoby gives the starting lineup three players who can get to the foul line eight-plus times on any given night. That helps New York avoid scoring droughts because if the shots aren’t falling as they should, they can find ways to pile on points at the charity stripe.
It's not an unreasonable expectation, either. Sure, the Knicks rank just 18th with their 25.0 free-throw attempts per game. But they have 66 attempts in their last two contests.
You have to believe the shots (for Anunoby and the team) will eventually start falling more frequently. Combine that with Anunoby and Brunson consistently getting to the line, and the Knicks will quickly improve their 14th-place offensive rating.
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