Mapping Out an OG Anunoby Most Improved Player Season
And the award for the NBA's 2020-21 Most Improved Player goes too... Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby.
OK, back to reality.
Few — if any — teams in the NBA are better at developing talent than the Toronto Raptors. In each of the past two seasons, the organization has had players in the Most Improved Player discussion, with Pascal Siakam winning the award two years ago.
Heading into this season, no player on the Raptors roster looks better positioned for a breakout — Most Improved Player worthy — season than the 23-year-old Anunoby. Vegas has him at 20/1 odds of winning the award, the sixth highest in the NBA, implying about a 5% chance of it happening.
So what exactly does an Anunoby breakout season look like?
Offensive Development
Anunoby is a modern NBA offensive darling. He averaged 10.6 points per game last season while taking over 90% of his shots either behind the 3-point line or at the rim. He was essentially a highly efficient role player who was assisted on the vast majority of his points.
This year, the Raptors will likely ask a little bit more from Anunoby who should see his usage rate climb from 14%. For him to succeed, it will require a little more offensive creativity, something Anunoby is preparing for.
"Just being more aggressive, looking for my own shot, looking to get other people involved," he said.
He said he spent much of the offseason working on shooting off the dribble, ball handling, and passing on the move, the kind of stuff he'll be required to do with the ball in his hands a little more this year.
"I thought he started to become more of a driver, getting by people on the catch or making a move and getting by people," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Anunoby's performance in the NBA's Orlando Bubble last year. "There's probably a midrange game in there that he could find, I know he's working on."
While it's unlikely Anunoby ever becomes a 20 points per game scorer, a little more shot creation to increase his scoring to 15 points per game would make a massive difference for Toronto and could vault him into MIP consideration.
Defensive Development
Anunoby is already one of the NBA's premier defensive players. He's a true 3-and-D player who can guard almost anyone on the court.
One through four, Anunoby has no issue stopping the opposing team's best player. This season though, with Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol playing in Los Angeles, it's expected that Anunoby will see a little more time defending centres.
Last year, Anunoby defended opposing centres on about 14% of his defensive possessions, according to Krishna Narsu. His most notable stretch against opposing bigs came in the playoffs when the Raptors opted to go small against the Boston Celtics, playing Anunoby at the five against Daniel Theis.
It worked pretty well for Toronto, who held the Celtics to just 101 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. It was, however, a bit of a learning experience for Anunoby who gave up some easy lob passes down low to Theis.
"Just gotta be strong, gotta be on my feet, just ready to go, ready to protect the rim, ready to get back to my man because I know [Theis] got some lobs from me stepping up too early," Anunoby said, reflecting on the matchup. "Just learning from those situations, knowing to stunt, get back, just knowing what to do, reading the situation."
Anunoby's ability to hold his own against opposing bigs for extended stretches will likely be an X-factor this season both for the Raptors as a team and for Anunoby's development into an all-star caliber player this season.
