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Through four games of the 2026 NBA Finals, New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby has been nothing short of incredible.
Anunoby, who won a championship in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors, is averaging 23.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game, and made the play of the series thus far with his game-winning putback in Game 4.
But despite all that, Knicks legend and New York City native Carmelo Anthony doesn’t think that Anunoby is worthy of winning the NBA Finals MVP Award.
Carmelo Anthony Says Jalen Brunson Should Win NBA Finals MVP Over OG Anunoby
Anthony recently sat down with Rasheed Wallace, Monica McNutt, and Kazeem Famuyide to discuss Game 4 on his “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast.
During part of the episode, McNutt asked which Knicks played the current leader in the clubhouse to win the NBA Finals MVP if the Knicks were to hold on and win the series.
Both Anthony and Wallace said that it is Jalen Brunson, not Anunoby, who deserves the award.
“OG has been the most steady, consistent guy in these,” Anthony said. “Forget the tip-in, that stop on Fox was amazing. So now you put all of that together … But let’s just be honest about this, it’s JB. If OG win it, it be like Andre Iguodala’s at Golden State.”
Iguodala famously won the 2015 NBA Finals MVP over Steph Curry while averaging 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.
Meanwhile, Brunson is also having a strong series. The Knicks superstar is averaging 29.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. However, he’s struggled with his shooting from the field in the series, and had it not been for Anunoby, New York could easily find itself down 3-1 in the series rather than up 3-1.
Ultimately, both have a strong argument, as does Karl-Anthony Towns. But it feels like Anthony took an unnecessary shot at Anunoby by downplaying his impact.