NEW YORK—It was around 10 p.m. on the night of March 12 and, standing in front of his stall inside the home locker room at Madison Square Garden, OG Anunoby was surrounded by the small battalion of reporters who cover the New York Knicks.
He had played a typically efficient game: 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting to help the Knicks rout the Philadelphia 76ers. But that’s not entirely why Anunoby was being cross-examined.
Much of the conversation had to do with 18 games missed between Jan. 29 and March 10 with a right elbow injury. It was initially thought to be inflamed, only for the organization to announce on Feb. 8 that the swingman underwent surgery to replace a loose bone fragment.
So this was his first game back, and he was greeted with cheers from the 19,812 congregants who filled the old gym spanning 31st and 33rd Streets between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in midtown Manhattan.
Like New York itself, Madison Square Garden is equal parts glamour and grit. It is a place where celebrities and the historically wealthy, the nouveau riche and trust funders, hipsters, the working class and the poor gather to pass judgment on their teams and the athletes they employ. It is a place where a relatively unknown NHL forward such as Matt Rempe can become a beloved cult figure overnight, while an all-time legend such as Patrick Ewing was held to an impossible standard and only now, 22 years into retirement, is his greatness truly appreciated.
It is a place whose fan base is equal parts sophisticated and parochial, which is why it was rather significant that they chanted Anunoby’s name with something resembling zealotry five games into his Knicks tenure.
“It was really cool,” Anunoby told Rebecca Haarlow in a post-game, on-court interview following a Knicks win on Jan. 9, when the MSG Network courtside reporter asked about the “OG” chants that shook the Garden. “It was really cool.”
“I was excited to be back out there,” Anunoby said. “It was fun. It felt great. It has been a while and I missed playing here, missed the fans, missed my teammates.”
The feeling was reciprocal.
Anunoby has changed the Knicks for the better since the Dec. 30 trade that added him, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn from the Raptors for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a 2024 second-round draft pick.
At the time, the Knicks were 17-14. Heading into Wednesday night’s date with the Raptors at Scotiabank Arena, they are 43-28: second in the Atlantic Division, fourth in the Eastern Conference and ninth overall before Tuesday’s games.
When Anunoby has been healthy, he has been key to New York’s success; the Knicks are 15-2 in the games he has played.
“He helps this team go,” Knicks starter Josh Hart said.
Anunoby is averaging 14.5 points on 49.7 per cent shooting from the field — including 36.4 on three-point attempts while grabbing 4.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.7 steals and blocking 1.1 shots in 35.2 minutes per game.
And his greatest value is on defence, where Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has matched Anunoby up against a variety of high-end offensive players including Philadelphia’s crafty guard Tyrese Maxey and Sacramento’s dominant big Domantas Sabonis.
“Always happy to have OG back,” said centre Isaiah Hartenstein. “Just having him back I think even makes my job a lot easier on defence, because I can help a little bit more knowing he is behind me, knowing he is going to be there.”
Which, in turn, has helped the Knicks become one of the league’s preeminent defensive squads.
While not an exact replica of their 1990s predecessors, New York’s 107.6 points allowed per game is second in the league, and they’re eighth in opponent field goal percentage (46.7 per cent).
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