OG Anunoby isn’t the kind of player who gets rattled by a headline, and the latest one out of Philadelphia didn’t change that one bit.
The 76ers’ addition of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown instantly shifted the balance of power in the East and put them in position to challenge the Knicks, but Anunoby treated the news like just another part of the NBA calendar. Asked about Philadelphia’s revamped group, he kept it simple, as reported by Fadeaway World’s Mark Medina.
“That’s what the NBA is every year. Players move.
There are trades and free agency stuff. That's just how it is and how it works.
Everyone is just excited for the season to start and to play the games,” said the do-it-all forward.
That steady tone fits Anunoby perfectly. He has built his reputation on being unflappable, and that trait plays well in New York, where the spotlight never really dims.
For the Knicks, the bigger point is that the roster still has plenty of continuity. They bring back Anunoby, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges, with more experience in the mix this time around.
Losing Mitchell Robinson will sting, but the Knicks still have enough talent to make a strong case for defending their crown. They also have something that matters in a league that changes fast: familiarity. Against a Philadelphia team that has added star power, that kind of chemistry could still be a real edge.
The first chance to see it comes on October 20, when the Knicks open the new season against the 76ers at Madison Square Garden.
In Other News...
Knicks May Have Finally Found A Way To Ease Jalen Brunsons Burden
Jalen Brunson has carried a massive share of the Knicks offense since arriving in 2022, and that workload has been one of the defining facts of his time in New York. The challenge for the Knicks has been simple enough to state and hard enough to solve: how do you keep their primary creator fresh without stripping away the control he gives the half-court attack?
The recent playoffs offered a potential answer, with Karl-Anthony Towns helping to shoulder more of the offensive initiation and giving Brunson more chances to work off the ball. That shift let Brunson score more from spot-ups and other off-ball situations, and it gave New York a useful blueprint for easing his burden heading into next season without needing to remake the roster. [Read more 🡒]
OG Anunoby Made One Thing Clear After The Knicks Title Run
The Knicks championship run ended with the kind of signature moment teams remember for years, and OG Anunoby provided it when New York stormed back from a 29-point hole to take Game 4 of the 2026 NBA Finals on his game-winning put-back. A night later, the Knicks finished the job in Game 5 and closed out the San Antonio Spurs in five games, leaving the franchise with its first title in a long while and Anunoby at the center of one of the defining plays of the postseason.
As much as he is still taking in what the run meant, Anunoby has already made his next priority clear: getting ready for the season ahead. For a Knicks team that just reached the mountaintop, that mindset matters, because the celebration can fade quickly once the target shifts from winning the championship to trying to stay there. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Face A Deuce McBride Decision With Bigger Trade Implications
The Knicks long-term planning around Deuce McBride has turned into a pretty practical roster question this summer. An extension for the young guard would not just lock in a useful backcourt piece, it could also preserve his trade eligibility before the next deadline, giving the front office a little more flexibility if the season pushes them toward another move.
There is some real appeal in doing it now because the right kind of deal could make McBride more valuable around the league by giving another team cost certainty. New York would still have to thread the contract details carefully, but with McBrides current market value and contract expectations, a reasonable extension appears to be on the table while leaving the bigger decision for later. [Read more 🡒]