Knicks OG Anunoby declares I should win Defensive Player of the Year after long being overlooked

ATLANTA — OG Anunoby has witnessed it for years.The avoidance. If the opposing player sees him lined up as the defender, he tends to pass it away.

Or call for a screen. Facing Anunoby one-on-one on the perimeter is rarely, if ever, the appealing option. “I’ve always known it,” Anunoby said.“I’ve always known people do that.” Unfortunately toward Anunoby’s quest for All-Defense and Defensive Player of the Year recognition — “that’s pretty important to me,” he said Friday — such avoidance isn’t very tangible or accessible evidence for the voters. The defensive awards often go to the players with the most steals or blocks.

Twenty-seven of the last 33 DPOY winners were centers or big power forwards.Brook Lopez, whose defensive strategy is standing around the rim to block shots, was runner-up in 2023 despite being too slow to defend a pick-and-roll. “There’s no stats for [the offensive player calling a screen to avoid you].

There’s no stat for picking up a dribble to pass.Or shot attempts — like holding the other player to no shot attempts, there’s no stat for that,” Anunoby, the Knicks top overall defender by a wide margin, said.

“So [voters] can’t really tell.They just always give it to the big men.” Anunoby, 27, has only once been previously awarded All-Defense, when he was named to the Second Team while with the Raptors in 2023.

Part of the reason he has been overlooked is the injuries.He logged over 50 games just once in the last four seasons. But he’s been largely healthy for this campaign and already logged a career-high in minutes.

Anunoby leads the Knicks in blocks.He’s tied with Josh Hart in steals and is No.

1 in defensive rating among the starters. “I think I should be on First Team All-Defense,” Anunoby, normally shy in interviews, said confidently.“I think I should win Defensive Player of the Year. “I’ve always felt that way.” Earlier in the season, it would’ve been hard to g...