LeBron James doesn’t have the Finals MVP vote, but he did have a different take on how the Knicks’ championship run shook out.
On his Mind the Game podcast, James said OG Anunoby was the Knicks’ most valuable player in the 2026 NBA Finals, even though Jalen Brunson walked away with the hardware after New York beat the San Antonio Spurs in five games and ended a 53-year title drought.
“OG was, I think, the MVP of the team in the Finals,” James said. “And obviously, Brunson became the MVP, but it’s the small things.
The chase-down block on [De’Aaron] Fox, the tip for the game; he was consistent. To continue to knock down threes… So obviously we know Jalen Brunson was the head of the snake, but I think OG was just the most steady person for that team.”
Anunoby’s case starts with the two plays everyone remembers from Game 4. First came the chase-down block on De’Aaron Fox in the closing seconds.
New York had already battled all the way back from a 29-point deficit and was clinging to a 106-105 lead with less than 20 seconds left when Fox pushed in transition for a layup instead of killing time. That opened the door for Anunoby to get back and erase the shot.
Then came the finish. After the Knicks grabbed the ball, Brunson missed a deep three on the next trip, and Anunoby tipped in the miss for the game-winner. That bucket gave New York a 3-1 lead and effectively sealed the series.
For most of the first four games, Anunoby looked every bit like the Finals MVP. He was putting up 23.8 points per game while shooting 58.0% from the field and 55.6% from three. That’s not just good production - that’s ruthless efficiency.
Brunson was scoring more, averaging 29.5 points through those four games, but his shooting numbers told a different story. He was at 39.6% from the field and 34.5% from beyond the arc. The clutch shots kept coming, but the efficiency never really caught up.
Even then, Anunoby still had a lane to the award if Game 5 had gone a little differently. Instead, he was well below his best in the closeout game, finishing with 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting, along with eight rebounds, three steals and one block in the Knicks’ 94-90 title-clinching win.
Brunson, meanwhile, delivered the kind of finale that makes the decision easy. In a game where plenty of players struggled to find rhythm, the 30-year-old exploded for 45 points on 14-of-27 shooting, plus three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
That performance pushed Brunson to Finals averages of 32.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He got all 11 votes and became a unanimous Finals MVP.
Anunoby still finished with strong numbers of his own: 21.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. Just not quite enough to overtake Brunson once the trophy was on the line.
James’ praise also lands with a little extra weight because he’s already said he had planned to sign with the Knicks in free agency before they won the title. Instead, James is now with the Philadelphia 76ers, who are considered the biggest threat to New York in the Eastern Conference as the champions try to defend their crown.
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