Brown has raved about Anunoby's defense all year, but will he get the nod this season?
The New York Knicks blew the doors off the Chicago Bulls on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, cruising to a 136-96 win that was never really in doubt.
OG Anunoby was the best player on the floor by a wide margin, and his head coach had something to say about it afterward that had nothing to do with the final score.
When Mike Brown found out during his postgame press conference that Anunoby has only made one NBA All-Defensive Team in his entire nine-year career, he didn't hold back.
"That's bulls***... sorry kids... He deserves 1st Team this year."
Anunoby's Two-Way Masterclass
Anunoby put on one of his best performances of the season against Chicago, finishing with 31 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 7-of-10 from three, along with eight rebounds, two assists and a block.
He was a ridiculous plus-32 in just 30 minutes, tying his career high in made threes while the Knicks (50-28) steamrolled the Bulls (29-48) by 40 points.
But what makes Anunoby special is that a night like Friday was about more than just the offense.
He is averaging 16.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game this season while guarding the opposing team's best player on a nightly basis, and his 102 steals through 64 games put him within striking distance of last year's total of 110 in 74 games.
His only All-Defensive nod came back in 2022-23 when he was named to the Second Team after leading the league with 1.9 steals per game.
Brown went further than just the raw numbers, calling Anunoby's defensive versatility "off the charts" and saying you can build an entire defensive scheme around his ability to switch across positions.
Brown has been vocal about this all season, previously saying Anunoby deserves to be in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation after a dominant two-way performance in Denver back in March.
The Competition for First Team
Getting onto the All-Defensive First Team is no small task, especially this season.
Victor Wembanyama is the runaway favorite for Defensive Player of the Year with the San Antonio Spurs (59-18) and leads the league in blocks at 3.1 per game while anchoring the second-best defense in the NBA.
Derrick White has been the backbone of the Boston Celtics' elite defense and leads all guards in blocks.
Dyson Daniels, Cason Wallace and Toumani Camara are all in the mix too, and if Ausar Thompson qualifies based on the 65-game minimum he would be a lock.
The forward spots are where Anunoby's case gets interesting.
He brings something that a lot of those other candidates don't, which is the ability to guard every position on the floor while also being a legitimate offensive weapon.
Anunoby himself said after the game that making the All-Defensive First Team is a goal he set coming into the season, and that he believes he should have gotten the nod last year too.
With four games left in the regular season, Anunoby is nearing the 65-game threshold to qualify for end-of-season awards.
The Knicks head to Atlanta on Monday before hosting the Celtics on Thursday, and how Anunoby performs down the stretch could go a long way toward deciding whether voters finally give him the recognition Brown thinks he has earned for years.