The Knicks Are Making The Right Move With OG Anunoby Center Buzz

Sometimes the third center you're looking for is the starting power forward who was there all along

Sep 28, 2026; Tarrytown, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) speaks during media day at the MSG training facility. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Just how thin are the New York Knicks at center? A year ago, eight different Knicks played there, with most gone now: Mitchell Robinson, Ariel Hukporti, Guerschon Yabusele, Jeremy Sochan and Trey Jamison. The three who remain? One who clearly wants an extension ASAP in Karl-Anthony Towns, one who could be traded sooner than later in Mo Diawara, and OG Anunoby.

KAT could be asked to man the pivot even more this season; no surprise, even with New York having signed Andre Drummond. What may surprise some is the Knicks apparently plan to have Anunoby play more center, too. That could turbocharge a forward leap similar to the one the team took after making Towns their lead facilitator in the playoffs. Or it could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Optionality is king

Mike Brown mentioned the possibility of OG at the 5 in conjunction with a few other wrinkles the Knicks may throw at teams. Continuing KAT’s work running the offense from the elbows forces teams to deal with a 7-foot point center perfectly content to pick them apart with his passing, shoot over the top of a shorter defender or dribble past a bigger one. That in turn ties into another adjustment Brown alluded to, having Anunoby and Mikal Bridges run more pick-and-roll actions.

The greatest offense the league has seen this century belonged to Warrior teams built around Steph Curry. Lethal as his jumper is, what makes him so destructive is everything else he does at a high level – running pick-and-rolls; the incessant, incisive off-ball movement; a lay-up package that lets him finish at a high level over shotblockers. Curry has evolved from a pitcher who throws an incredible fastball to one with pinpoint command of several off-speed offerings.

The expanded roles for Towns, Anunoby and Bridges all speak to the Knicks seeking to evolve the threats Jalen Brunson presents. The more other Knicks have the ball and are driving the action, the harder it is for defenses to lock in on Brunson. The captain is already a master of keeping defenders and defenses off-balance all by himself. If his teammates are doing the same, the offense is that much harder to predict. A combination lock with two or three numbers is hard to crack; with five it’s practically impossible.

Last year, OG was the ballhandler on fewer than one pick-and-roll per game, averaging a lowly 0.78 points per possession while shooting 40% from the floor and turning the ball over 25% of the time. Give him more time at center, against bigs, and all those numbers – and New York’s offense – figure to improve across the board. That not only gives the bigs a break during the 82-game marathon, it lets the Knicks experiment with a play style they may feature more of come the postseason, much like Golden State used to adjust Draymond Green’s role in the playoffs.

The defense has to adjust, so feature the best defender more often

The loss of Mitchell Robinson robs the Knicks of not only their premier rim protector, but their only rim protector. Of the returning players, the two leading shot blockers from last season are Mikal Bridges and OG. If Anunoby is going to see more time at center, the Knicks don’t need to reinvent the wheel so much as design a new shape entirely. How do you stop teams from killing you at the rim without a 7-footer? Keep them from getting there with an airtight perimeter D.

If there’s a hidden blessing to the Knicks title defense originating in the revamped and deeper East, it’s that none of their main rivals have a big man capable of punishing them. Mitch and Neemis Queta are welcome to post up all day if they want; better that than Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard getting going. Neither Jarrett Allen nor Evan Mobley have averaged better than 17 points a game in a playoff run. Whatever Joel Embiid giveth the Sixers on offense, he more than taketh it away with his defensive shortcomings. Jalen Duren was so ineffective in his first postseason it nearly drove him and the Pistons apart, until he signed a last-minute contract extension. 

If teams go small against New York, the Knicks can throw OG at most opposing centers without suffering any. Pair him in a lineup with Diawara, Bridges, Brunson and Jose Alvarado or Miles McBride and good luck to most teams trying to keep up – on either end of the floor.

It’s the salary cap, stupid

If there’s one commonality among the league’s record-setting eight straight different champions, it’s been shaped by ever-tightening salary cap rules: two-way players are worth their weight in gold.

Once upon a time a team could feature one offensive star, an Allen Iverson or a Jason Kidd, and surround him with role players willing to do what said star couldn’t or wouldn’t. Dikembe Mutombo and Kenyon Martin weren’t much in the way of scorers, but they didn’t need to be. Their job was simple. It was mostly one-dimensional. Those jobs are now nearly obsolete.

The championship ethos has gone from “the more star power, the better” to “teams are only as strong as their weakest link.” The salary cap no longer permits teams to accumulate three or more stars. Depth and health carry more importance than ever. With every dollar at a premium, how much can or should the Knicks invest in 7-footers who are mostly in the NBA because they’re 7-footers? When they can give minutes to a two-way talent like OG, someone unlikely to be knocked around by opposing bigs, who has the quickness, strength and athleticism to go past, up and over them?     

It’s an idea, at this stage, one the Knicks may dive deeper into or give up on entirely. Anunoby’s health is as paramount to their title hopes as any player; is the added risk of injury against bigger, stronger players worth the advantages it creates? If Towns is already on the hook for a bigger role, the Knicks may decide their best odds of repeating mean doubling down on the core that got them this far. If that means more minutes in the middle for Anunoby, the Knicks will take their chances. When they traded for him, he was looking to spread his wings beyond what he’d been doing for Toronto. The sky is still the limit, for him and the Knickerbockers.   

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