Positive OG Anunoby Injury News Clears Playoff Headache for Knicks

The Knicks' injury-riddled season delivered one more concern in the closing games, as forward OG Anunoby hurt his left ankle against the Raptors and sat out the finale. Though most of New York's starters didn't suit up against Charlotte, Anunoby's absence carried a deeper meaning considering his scare.

However, this ailment appears to already be behind him. On Wednesday, head coach Mike Brown told reporters that everyone practiced, so it seems the elite defender isn't feeling any major side effects after going down versus Toronto.

Considering the major role Anunoby will likely play in the Knicks' efforts to slow down the Hawks, this news is quietly huge for the No. 3 seed.

OG Anunoby pivotal to Knicks' plans for Hawks with injury out of the way

Though the 28-year-old saw his scoring dip this season (16.7 PPG) under Mike Brown compared to last campaign (18.0), his defensive excellence was undeniable. Anunoby just finished with the third 100-steal season of his career, while posting an astounding 112 defensive rating and his most defensive win shares (3.2) since 2021-22 (3.7).

This performance has the nine-year veteran in line to make just the second All-Defensive team of his career, and it's played a major part in the Knicks owning the fifth-best scoring defense (based on opponent PPG) in the league.

“That’s bull—-t,” Mike Brown says when he’s told OG Anunoby has made only 2nd team All Defense in his career. Brown sees Anunoby as a first team All Defense no-brainer this season. Brown also said he went with Jeremy Sochan tonight, in part, because there was an opportunity to…
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) April 4, 2026

However, Anunoby being injured would complicate matters, especially with Atlanta looming.

The Hawks put up points in bunches this season, logging the sixth-most PPG (118.5) and top-10 effective field goal percentage (55.4%). They love to put pressure on opponents and force extra possessions, as evidenced by their 101.7 pace rating (T-4 in 2025-26).

Not only is there a crafty backcourt of breakout guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (20.8 PPG, 3.7 APG) and CJ McCollum (18.7 PPG, 4.1 APG) to worry about, but forward Jalen Johnson (22.5 PPG, 7.9 APG) has ascended to true star status this campaign.

With Johnson being a robust scoring and playmaking threat, keeping his contributions in check is going to help shape this series. Countless playoff series have been determined by a team simply not having an answer for their opponent's best player in a best-of-seven format.

Luckily, Anunoby is the perfect counter for the Knicks to deploy. His physical, rangy defense will allow him to match up well with Johnson whether it's closer to the basket or on the perimeter. His penchant for disrupting passing lanes is also a major plus against Johnson, who's shown he can struggle with decision-making based on his eye-popping 3.4 turnovers per game (No. 7 in the NBA this past season).

All of those benefits of having Anunoby on hand would be lessened if this ankle injury was a bigger issue, though. He'd be less effective on the perimeter with his lateral quickness hampered, and likely struggle in the mid-post (where Johnson likes to operate against smaller defenders) with less sure footing when the Hawks' All-Star looks to back him down and create closer to the basket.

Johnson did get his against New York (19.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 9.3 assists) in three previous meetings in 2025-26, but he also never scored more than 21 points. That came in the most recent showdown on April 6, where he was also limited to only five assists. If NY can get that most games in this series, there's a good chance it will move on quickly to the second round.

With a healthy Anunoby, plus Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, to throw at Johnson, the Knicks' options to match up with Atlanta's clear best player are looking strong ahead of Game 1 tip-off.

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