NEW ORLEANS — Believe it or not, there was a time in OG Anunoby’s life when he wasn’t a good defender.
Actually, that’s not completely true.
“In high school, they would always call fouls,” Anunoby told The Athletic. “I don’t even know if I was. The referees were just regular people. I don’t know if I was good or not.”
There’s no question that Anunoby is a good defender now. In fact, you’d have a tough time confidently naming anyone better. The Knicks’ 130-125 victory over the Pelicans Monday night was just another example as to why Anunoby should, without question, be on an All-Defense team by season’s end and why he should be in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year.
With his team down three with nine minutes to go in the fourth, Anunoby blew up a Zion Williamson dribble hand-off by being the physical, one-step ahead defender he tends to be. About two minutes later, with the game tied, he jumped an entry pass to the elbow, getting around the Pelicans’ Derrick Queen to poke the ball and get the Knicks an extra possession.
The same way Jalen Brunson is clutch on the offensive end, Anunoby delivers heartbreak to opposing teams defensively for New York (23-9).
“He just put his footprint in the game on both ends of the floor,” head coach Mike Brown said. “Another All-Star of ours is OG Anunoby.”
Anunoby said he became a good defender when he got to college. It was his coach at Indiana, Tom Crean, who he said pulled out his potential on that end of the floor by staying on him when he slipped up and watching hours and hours of film. When Anunoby got to the NBA, he credits former Toronto Raptors assistant coach Rex Kalamian for continuing what Crean started at Indiana. Anunoby added that playing with teammates like Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol and Kawhi Leonard early in his career was instrumental in allowing him to pick up tricks of the trade.
Now in Year 9, Anunoby has combined his physical gifts, smarts and experiences into a defensive season on par with, or even better than, ones he’s had in the past.
Last year, Anunoby said he reached out to Dirk Nowitzki to pick his brain on shooting. The two discussed several tips and tricks. When asked if he’s ever called a defensive legend to pick their brain in the same way, Anunoby smiled.
“I don’t need to,” he said.
He’s right.
If you’ve ever wondered why Knicks rookie Mohamed Diawara wears No. 51 (which, if we’re being honest, is an ugly number), it’s simple. That’s where he was picked in last June’s NBA Draft.
Going into that life-changing night, Diawara had no clue if he’d ever get a phone call telling him he’d achieved his dream.
“I didn’t know at all,” Diawara told The Athletic. “I was hoping to get drafted but I had no clue if I would at all.
“I worked out with 13 teams. The feedback was pretty good. I did a lot of good workouts. I feel like I showed a lot of stuff to other teams. I felt confident that I wouldn’t regret anything.”
The French-born, 20-year-old Diawara has been a pleasant surprise for New York. He’s appeared in 23 games and started his third against New Orleans. Diawara more than tripled his previous career high with 18 points in 18 minutes. The Knicks don’t win if not for Diawara’s 16 first-half points. He also had two steals.
Diawara is one of several examples of how life in New York with Brown as head coach has changed. The young players on a veteran-heavy squad have had been handed opportunities here and there throughout the course of the season. Second-year point guard Tyler Kolek has emerged as a regular rotation player. Second-year forward Kevin McCullar won New York a game against Atlanta over the weekend with a career-high 13 points and eight rebounds. Second-year center Ariel Hukporti has filled in when Mitchell Robinson is out.
Brown is allowing his young players to sink or swim while simultaneously preparing the Knicks for a championship run. The Knicks are winning games while experimenting. Brown played 12 players in Monday’s back-and-forth contest against the Pelicans.
It’s the best of both worlds for the Knicks’ young players and veterans, with Diawara emerging as someone Brown wants to see more of.
“In the summer time, you started to see his feel,” Brown said of his second-round rookie. “His feel for the game is uncanny for someone his size and how young he is. Everything you try to teach him, he tries to absorb it. He works extremely hard. He’s long and a pretty good defender. He’s getting better. There are a lot of little things you watch and go, ‘Wow, oh my gosh.’ All of those things, when they add up, it gives you more confidence as a coaching staff to throw him out there and see what’s going to happen.”
Rookie Mohamed Diawara has made an impression for the Knicks. (Evan Bernstein / Getty Images)
Diawara, a 6-foot-9 forward who is built like a ball-winning NFL receiver, said that when he found he was going to the Knicks during the draft that there wasn’t ever any consideration, to his knowledge, of him being stashed overseas. He thought, at the very least, he would spend most of the season in the G League. Yet Diawara has primarily been with the main ball club, even without playing significant minutes.
That’s not a surprise to some of his veteran teammates.
“He has this mindset of just attacking,” Miles McBride said. “It kinda reminds me of myself, just attacking. You trust your preparation and results will end up in your favor. (Watching him the first few times) just reminded me of myself. You’re young and don’t know anything. You just go attack.”
Brunson admitted that he wasn’t familiar with Diawara when he joined the Knicks last summer. However, when the team got together in the offseason for the first time since the draft, New York’s star walked away impressed.
“Honestly, I didn’t know Mo when he was drafted,” Brunson said. “I’m not going to lie. When he came to summer league and I came to New York before preseason, I got to work with him and see him. He’s very confident, and the way we play, it’s great for the way we play. Did I do intel? No. But when I got to know him, I knew he’d be an asset for us.”