Knicks getting OG Anunoby’s best, at the best possible time: ‘The ultimate definition of sacrifice’

Nick Nurse is uniquely qualified to speak on OG Anunoby. The Philadelphia 76ers head coach remembers working with the star Knicks wing early in his tenure with the Toronto Raptors. Nurse coached Anunoby on the same Raptors team Kawhi Leonard led to an NBA title, and ever since, the two have often been mentioned among the NBA’s premier two-way wings.

Nurse has seen the comparisons.

“They’re not two completely different players because they’re both kind of lock-down defenders. When they make up their mind to start guarding people, it gets pretty tough out there, right?” he said ahead of Game 2 between the Knicks and Sixers on Wednesday. “OG’s a better shooter. I know Kawhi’s a good shooter, but OG’s better, and Kawhi’s probably a better one-on-one player at this point.”

He’s also watched his former pupil evolve year after year into a force multiplier for a Knicks team whose championship hopes run directly through Philadelphia. Because when Anunoby is impacting the game on both ends of the floor, the Knicks tend to follow.

“OG’s just continually, year after year, just keeps getting better and better. And he was amazing in [our last] series. He was really, really great and I thought he was really, really great in Game 1, too. He’s kind of always been really great at [defense], and then the shooting came and now he’ll rebound heavily when they need him,” Nurse said. “His cutting game’s gotten a lot better. I think his starting and ending on drives have gotten better as well. So he just kind of keeps getting better year after year, and he’s just a hardworking guy.”

To Nurse, the most noticeable improvement has been Anunoby’s shooting.

“When I had him, he was really fascinated with the art of shooting, and that was really cool to see him dig into that and just take his own journey on it to improve,” he said. “He’s a guy you cannot leave open, so he’s really done a great job at just working, and so that’s what happens when you do that year after year, and you keep playing heavy minutes and all that stuff. You’re going to get better.”

Mike Brown has his own history with Anunoby that predates Madison Square Garden. Brown attempted to recruit Anunoby to the Nigerian national team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Anunoby ultimately didn’t join the roster, but the relationship came full circle when Brown replaced Tom Thibodeau as Knicks head coach last summer.