Head coach Mike Brown is universally considered the New York Knicks’ most important offseason addition. After him, it’s a battle between Jordan Clarkson, Guerschon Yabusele, and most recently, Malcolm Brogdon.
But what if the Knicks’ newest difference-maker isn’t any of them? What if that honor actually belongs to OG Anunoby, and a burgeoning offensive skill that could unlock New York’s potential as top-shelf title contenders?
OG Anunoby’s drives could unleash new value
Downhill attacks are the skill in question. Except, this isn’t about driving volume itself, so much as what it can lead to: extra trips to the charity stripe.
Anunoby really put pedal to the metal last season while Jalen Brunson missed time with a sprained right ankle. Prior to his absence, Anunoby was averaging around five drives per 36 minutes. In the 15 games New York’s megastar point guard missed, Anunoby finished just over 8.7 drives per 36 minutes—a roughly 74 percent increase in volume.
These extra downhill opportunities proved ultra-important to the offense. Though Anunoby was not much more efficient from the floor—40.9 percent pre-Brunson injury versus 43.1 percent during his absence—the pressure his paint touches put on defenses opened up the floor for everyone else. Equally critical, the attention he commanded culminated in far more trips to the free-throw line.
Anunoby drew fouls on around 9.5 percent of his drives before Brunson’s absence. That share skyrocketed to 13.6 percent during the 15-game sample without him. Just three other players scored at least as many points off drives over this span (91) while matching that foul rate: Paolo Banchero, Anthony Edwards, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
The difference in raw volume makes this progression look even more staggering. Anunoby was averaging fewer than 2.5 free-throw attempts per 36 minutes at the time of Brunson’s injury. After he went down, that number more than doubled to 5.2 attempts per 36 minutes.
Yes, OG can still be this player next to Jalen Brunson
Maintaining this level of aggression from Anunoby in tandem with Brunson won’t be effortless. It’s also far from impossible.
Brown has already made it clear he believes that Brunson doesn’t need to dominate the ball, and will allow the Knicks to play in a variety of different ways. For his part, Anunoby is not someone who must monopolize touch time to get going downhill. He is more effective attacking quickly, right off the catch, rather than operating from a dead stop.
Generating more free-throw attempts isn’t only about driving, either. Anunoby has always been an accomplished cutter, and his rim pressure has actually increased since coming over from the Toronto Raptors. The time without Brunson gave him more of a feel for what it’s like working through traffic. That should make him an even more dangerous off-ball player.
So much remains to be seen about how Brown will utilize Anunoby, and the rest of these Knicks. But if the league’s most versatile defender alive has another offensive gear to hit, New York could be headed to the NBA Finals. And Anunoby just might punch his first All-NBA ticket.