Brown highlights Anunoby's elite defense.
New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown believes OG Anunoby has been playing at a Defensive Player of the Year level after his dominant performance in Denver.
The New York Knicks went into Denver on Friday night and came out with one of their most complete wins of the season, rolling the Nuggets 142-103 at Ball Arena.
Everybody was talking about the blowout, but the biggest takeaway might have come from what head coach Mike Brown said about OG Anunoby after the game.
Anunoby was the best player on the floor for the Knicks, finishing with a season-high 34 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including 6-of-11 from three, along with seven rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block in just 32 minutes of action.
But it was the defensive end where Brown really wanted to shine a light.
Brown Calls Out Anunoby's Defensive Dominance
After the win, Brown did not hold back when talking about what Anunoby has been doing on that side of the ball and where he thinks the forward belongs in the conversation for the league's top defensive awards.
"Yeah, before his toe injury he was playing like this I felt. He was playing high level basketball, just powerful," Brown said.
"His decisions are quick, he's touching the paint. If you don't get to him, he's knocking the shot down."
Brown then got into the defensive side of things, and that is where his praise really picked up.
"Defensively, he's just on another level. If he keeps that up, that's Defensive Player of the Year type stuff, for sure First Team All-Defense," Brown said.
"He's guarding point guards, then he's guarding, I don't know how many times Jokic won MVP but he's guarding him, and then he's guarding everybody in between. It's just been phenomenal and fun to watch him because he can do a lot."
For what it's worth, Nikola Jokic has won MVP three times, and he still put up 38 points in the loss, but the Knicks held the Nuggets to just 103 points on a night where Denver shot 8-of-40 from three.
Why Anunoby Has a Real Case
The numbers back up what Brown is saying, too.
On the season, Anunoby is averaging 16.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game while being asked to guard the other team's best player on a nightly basis.
His ability to switch across every position is what makes him so special, and that was on full display Friday night when he went from chasing guards around screens to bodying up against Jokic in the post without missing a beat.
The Knicks improved to 41-23 on the season with the win and sit third in the Eastern Conference, while the Nuggets dropped to 39-25.
New York's defense has been trending in a big way lately, and Anunoby is a huge reason why.
The 39-point blowout in Denver tied the Nuggets' worst home loss in franchise history, and the Knicks held Denver to just 20 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
What's Next for the Knicks
The win kicked off a five-game road trip for New York, and it could not have started much better.
Jalen Brunson had a quieter night with just nine points but dished out 15 assists, Josh Hart added 18 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 19 points with 17 rebounds.
It was a true team effort, but Anunoby was the one who set the tone on both ends of the floor.
If he keeps playing at this level, the Defensive Player of the Year conversation is going to get louder and louder as the season goes on.
The Knicks have the talent to make a deep run this spring, and Anunoby's two-way play is a big part of why people are starting to believe in this group.
New York heads to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday as they look to keep the momentum going on the road.