The Knicks Need Anunoby to Be More Than Brunson Gravity

By Dani Cross May 5, 2026

Anunoby's heater is too big to dismiss, but the Knicks should only get the full ceiling upgrade if his role survives tighter Philadelphia possessions.

Fan question

Should Knicks fans upgrade the team because OG Anunoby has become a real two-way playoff scorer, or treat this as a hot streak until Philadelphia forces tougher possessions?

Upgrade the role, not the whole ceiling yet. Anunoby's 23-for-30 overall and 8-for-11 from three over three games is too loud to ignore, but the next proof is whether those clean looks and defensive activity hold when the Sixers stop Brunson's early avalanche.

OG Anunoby going 23-for-30 over three games is not a cute footnote to the Knicks' 137-98 Game 1 win over Philadelphia.

The lazy Knicks take is already out there: three straight playoff wins by at least 25 means New York is suddenly a juggernaut and every hot hand is now a permanent answer. Stop. Margin can make a lot of possessions look cleaner than they really are.

The better argument is narrower: Anunoby has earned a role upgrade. The Knicks have not earned a full ceiling upgrade off this alone.

Brunson is still the first problem for Philadelphia. His 35 points, including 27 in the first half, bent Game 1 before the Sixers could get comfortable. That matters because it frames the Anunoby debate correctly. If Anunoby is mostly cashing in on Brunson panic, Philadelphia still has a path: load earlier, stay tighter on the weak side, run him off rhythm threes, and make him decide later in the clock.

But if this is more than Brunson gravity, the Knicks become harder to shrink. Anunoby had 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting in Game 1. The three-game line is louder: 23-for-30 overall and 8-for-11 from three. Add his opening-round production, 21.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 56.7 percent from three on five attempts per game, and this is not some random bench heater. It is a starter forcing the defense to be right in more places.

The next test is specific. Not another open three while the Knicks are already rolling. Not another clean catch after Brunson has pulled the whole building toward him. Anunoby has to keep adding value when Philadelphia is still attached to the game: attacking closeouts, finishing through contact, making quick extra passes, taking hard defensive minutes, and punishing help without needing the possession gift-wrapped.

So yes, buy the role upgrade. Do not buy the whole new Knicks ceiling yet.

That is the line fans should argue. If Game 2 shows Anunoby creating points and advantages after Philadelphia adjusts to Brunson, New York's offense has a real second pressure point. If his volume drops once the easy rhythm looks disappear, the hot-streak argument comes back fast.

Pick your side carefully: is Anunoby now the player who keeps the Sixers from loading everything at Brunson, or are you waiting until Philadelphia makes him prove it in tighter possessions?