Post‑Raptors life looks good on OG Anunoby as Knicks lead NBA Finals

He got a huge contract, a bigger spotlight and role and is healthy for a potential title run.

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Published Jun 04, 2026  •  Last updated 18 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs shoots the ball against OG Anunoby of the New York Knicks during Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals. Getty Images

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Things have worked out quite nicely for OG Anunoby since his late-2023 trade from Toronto to New York.

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His team leads the NBA Finals 1-0 after Wednesday’s thrilling 105-95 comeback win in San Antonio, its remarkable 12th straight playoff victory.

Anunoby played a typically strong two-way game, scoring 17 points while helping to guard phenom Victor Wembanyama, who got off to a slow start Wednesday.

Anunoby is shooting a ridiculous 48.4% on three-point shots in this post-season and 56.4% overall while averaging nearly 20 points a game (he’s a career 13.3 points-per-game scorer and averaged 16.7 in the regular season).

Jalen Brunson is the best Knicks player, but Anunoby is perhaps its most indispensable. Like during his nearly 6.5-season run in Toronto, the big man fills all kinds of holes and helps make everything work at both ends of the floor.

The reasons for his Toronto departure are varied and largely depend on who you talk to. Undisputedly, Anunoby wanted a massive new contract and the Raptors were hesitant to grant that wish knowing Scottie Barnes had arrived, Pascal Siakam was playing at an all-NBA level and soon due for his own big deal (the Raptors ended up dealing Siakam too later that season and now pay Brandon Ingram a similar wage) and, at one point, Fred VanVleet was still around and set for another raise himself.

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Toronto held prior talks with teams like Portland (involving Damian Lillard), Brooklyn (Kevin Durant) and Memphis (multiple first-round picks), but never found a match.

Why the New York Knicks?

Anunoby had his sights set on New York if traded (his agent is the son of Knicks boss Leon Rose, he enjoyed the idea of playing in the NBA’s biggest market and thought he’d see an enhanced role there) and got his wish.

His contractual desires were met too in the form of a 5-year, $212.5-million contract, which made him the highest-paid Knick at the time. Subsequent moves for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns might have received more attention, but Anunoby helped turn New York into a contender more than either and he remains integral.

He helped the Raptors win it all with solid regular-season work and loved becoming an NBA champion, but yearned to be on the court contributing in the biggest games, having missed the entire Raptors playoff run due to injury.

“The first time it was really cool, but it wasn’t the way I would have wanted It,” Anunoby told reporters before Game 1. “So this time, just happy to be here, happy to be healthy. Just excited.”

And he delivered, scoring 12 of his points in the decisive fourth quarter, including a pull-up jumper over the condor-like Wembanyama.

“Just enjoying the moment,” Anunoby said up at the podium afterward.

He has had a good time when facing the Raptors, too. Toronto has not beaten the Knicks (0-11, including five blowout losses, one of them late in the NBA Cup, this season) since the trade, which brought back Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett.

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Anunoby might have felt unappreciated as a Raptor, having solved a decade-plus hole at small forward, made an all-time shot to win a playoff game and been a important piece during the title season before getting hurt right before the historic run to the championship. That’s not the case in New York.

Though Raptors fans liked Anunoby, he has become an absolute darling amongst Knicks supporters. That’s only going to rise if he keeps playing well through the rest of this series.

And if the Knicks end up winning it all for the first time in nearly six decades, partly because of Anunoby’s work done against Wembanyama? Well, rest assured Anunoby will go down as a New York sporting legend.

@WolstatSun

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