New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby only played in seven games to begin the 2025-26 NBA season before he was left out of commission with a left hamstring injury last month. 

Anunoby, who is in the ninth season of his career, missed nine of the Knicks’ contests as a result of his injury, but finally made his return to the court when he suited up against the Utah Jazz last night. 

“It felt good,” Anunoby said in a postgame interview. “Missed playing with my teammates, missed the fans. I missed it. It was really fun playing.”

Anunoby scored 11 points in 23 minutes in his post-injury debut and shot 4-for-8 from the field. In that interview, he shared some additional insight about missing time, and spoke about some of the things he would do on the sideline to compensate for not being out on the floor. 

“It’s been not fun,” Anunoby said. “Unfortunate. But, I mean, just try to help in any way possible – be supportive, talk to my teammates, tell them what I’m seeing and just still help.” 

The Knicks sustained a 7-3 record in Anunoby’s absence, which bodes well for the team moving forward in the sense that even with a starter and player of his caliber not out on the floor, New York can still find ways to win. 

Around the same time Anunoby went down with his injury, Jalen Brunson found himself dealing with an injury (Grade 1 Right Ankle Sprain) as well. For Brunson, however, the recovery time was a lot shorter, as he only missed two games and was back several days after the original injury occurred. 

Anunoby is averaging 15.5 points and 5.2 rebounds in the games he has played in this season. That mark is currently three and a half points fewer than he was averaging last season with the Knicks, but once he gets back into his rhythm post-injury, there’s a strong chance that average will increase. 

The Knicks currently sit at 15-7 and find themselves in second place in the Eastern Conference. 

The Eastern Conference may not appear as competitive as the Western Conference, especially when the West has a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder – who have lost just one game over a month into the new season – leading the pack, but the East is certainly competitive in its own right. 

For example, right now, the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh seeds in the Eastern Conference – the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers are all within four games of the top-seeded Detroit Pistons, who sit at 18-5. 

The Knicks should be lucky they find themselves in that mix in second place, especially after having dealt with injuries. And with Aununoby now back, they should have an even better chance of potentially catching up to the Pistons as the season moves along.