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OG Anunoby's career high vs. Knicks showed his potential

OG Anunoby battled injuries for most of the 2021-22 NBA season. However, when Pascal Siakam was recovering from shoulder surgery at the beginning of the year, Anunoby got a chance to get reps as the primary option on the court and didn't disappoint. Listen to the full 'Raptors Awards' episode on the 'Raptors Over Everything' podcast feed or watch on our Yahoo Sports Canada YouTube.

Video Transcript

AMIT MANN: Next one for me was OG versus the Knicks.

- [? --at ?] 29 points. Sizes up Barrett, fires a 3, and sticks it!

AMIT MANN: So this was early on in the season. He had 36 points on 13 of 27 shooting, career high for him. He was better than Julius Randle.

And that was a game where we saw his step-back really working. His step-back 3's were going. He was hitting those rhythm 3-point shots. He was making smart passes off of doubles. And his turnaround jumper was there.

Like, we're seeing all these little bits of OG's game kind of really evolve in ways that we didn't know he would ever be able to do. And that's why this is a game for me, for at least OG, is because who would have thought he'd get to this point, you know, in his NBA career-- a person who's able to orchestrate an offense and be something of a number one option? I never would have thought that. Because his-- his game's a bit strange, right? It's unconventional.

AARON ROSE: And we saw that at times in these playoffs. When Pascal Siakam or Fred VanVleet didn't have things going, maybe Fred was out, we saw at times that he was taking over the game. And--

AMIT MANN: Yeah.

AARON ROSE: --he's a really important role player, even if he doesn't become-- take his game to the next level, the way we saw it at points this time. If he could ever stay healthy, even with who he is right now, a guy who can defend a variety of positions, who will take on the best matchup every single night, even if he's just primarily a catch-and-shoot corner specialist, 3 and D wings are exactly what this Raptors team is looking for right now. They want more two-way players. If they had a team that was full of OG Anunobys, you know, I think they'd be pretty happy right now. So he's a very, very important player for this team moving forward.