The New York Knicks are just one win away from the NBA Finals. They look to be the clear favorites at this point, and it doesn’t seem like the Cleveland Cavaliers can bring it back from 3-0 now.
But there has been another drama brewing in the last few hours after the All-Defensive Teams were announced.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Mike Brown Stand Up For OG Anunoby
The NBA released its 2025-26 All-Defensive Teams on Friday, May 22. Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Ausar Thompson, Rudy Gobert, and Derrick White made the First Team. OG Anunoby was placed on the Second Team. He received 11 first-team votes. It was not enough to get him a place.
Karl-Anthony Towns did not wait to be asked. He brought it up himself in the postgame locker room. “Nobody wants to ask OG about second team? Damn,” Towns said. “He’s one of the best defenders in the world, and he got robbed from first.”
Mike Brown, unprompted: “Freakin’ OG got robbed. He should’ve been first team all defense…The versatility that guy brings to this team is off the charts, and I hope the voters get it right next time around. I’m happy he’s second team. He deserves something, but it was wrong.”
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) May 24, 2026
Mike Brown went even further. Before a reporter could raise the subject, Brown made his position clear. “Freakin’ OG got robbed,” Brown said.
“He should’ve been first team all-defense. The versatility that guy brings to this team is off the charts, and I hope the voters get it right next time around. I’m happy he’s second team. He deserves something, but it was wrong.”
Anunoby averaged 1.6 steals per game during the regular season. He also held opponents to 2.7 percent below their normal field-goal percentage when he defended them, per NBA.com. Anunoby has proven that he can guard point guards, wings, and power forwards at an elite level.
This is the third time in Anunoby’s career that he has been named to an All-Defensive Team. He made the Second Team in both 2023 and 2025. But none of them do what Anunoby does in terms of switching and disrupting at the point of attack.
New York is 11-2 in these playoffs. Their defense has been the engine behind every win. Anunoby has been the heart of that engine.
He will get another chance to make his case against either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals; he will be up against either Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Victor Wembanyama.
