OG Anunoby is recovering from a hamstring injury.
The New York Knicks steamrolled the Philadelphia 76ers in four games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, capped off with a dominant 30-point victory in Game 4 and right now it looks like the Knicks are unstoppable across the roster.
But, as much as the Knicks look like a well-oiled machine, there's still one key player that's missing from the team.
OG Anunoby has been injured since the second game of the semifinals when he left the game early with a hamstring injury and even though the Knicks carried on seamlessly after Anunoby went down with his injury, he's still a massive piece of the them who's shown that he can impact the game on both ends of the court.
New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby (8) drives past Philadelphia 76ers center Adem Bona (30) during game five of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Wendell Cruz-Imagn ImagesOn that end, any update on Anunoby's condition is huge for the Knicks and head coach Mike Brown gave a somewhat optimistic update on Anunoby's condition.
Mike Brown Speaks on Anunoby
"They told me what he [Anunoby] can do today. They haven't told me what he can do tomorrow," Brown said (via SNY). "I don't know what he'll be able to do for Game 1... I'm taking it one game at a time and I don't want to know from medical or anybody else because when I do that stuff I get my hopes up."
Brown gave as much of an update as he could with the information that he had at the time, but there's still not a concrete timeline on Anunoby's recovery. He's returned to some drills, but hasn't fully come back to live sessions just yet.
One of several benefits of the Knicks' four-game sweep is that the Knicks have as much time as possible to rest and prepare for the upcoming Eastern Conference Finals, which will be against either the Cleveland Cavaliers or Detroit Pistons depending on how their own series plays out.
New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) controls the ball against Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe (77) during the second quarter of game one of the eastern conference semifinal round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Brad Penner-Imagn ImagesHow Good Can The Knicks Be With Anunoby?
With that amount of time, Anunoby has the best opportunity possible to recover and ideally be back in time for the start of the next series.
With Anunoby back, the Knicks will be back at full strength and with the team rolling as well as they've been, it doesn't look like there's another team in the Eastern Conference that could stand up to the Knicks at this point.
New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) drives to the basket against Philadelphia 76ers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. (9) during the first quarter of game one of the eastern conference semifinal round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Brad Penner-Imagn ImagesOf course, that's all still dependent on both Anunoby's return and the Knicks keeping up the momentum that they've generated against the 76ers.
If they can and Anunoby is back at even mostly full strength, then the Knicks will look even scarier on the court then they already are.
