OG Anunoby Just Became a New York Knicks Legend

They say legends are made in the NBA Finals.

OG Anunoby is taking that personally.

After erasing a 29-point deficit against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 (you're reading that correctly), the New York Knicks are now one win away from their first championship since 1973. If and when they get the job done, there will be plenty of credit to go around.

Among the first items of business? That would be putting a statue of OG Anunoby outside Madison Square Garden.

Anunoby Saved The Knicks

Overcoming a 29-point lead takes a collective effort, but Anunoby cherry-topped his 33-point, 10-of-15-shooting masterclass with two of the biggest plays in franchise history.

First, there was the series-altering block.

With the Knicks trailing by one, Jalen Brunson had his floater swatted by Victor Wembanyama. One chaotic fight for the ball later, De'Aaron Fox ended up with possession inside 13 seconds to play. He inexplicably went for the layup rather than dribbling it out and waiting for the foul.

A sprinting Anunoby made him pay:

That play alone is enough for one career game. OG being OG, though, channeled his inner "I got one more in me" meme.

Out of a timeout, with the Knicks still down one, Brunson fired a three over Wemby. It missed short, but Anunoby came flying in for the tip-in:

Ballgame. Series. Legacy.

Call this whatever you want. It is everything. And more.

There is no overstating the gravity of these moments. Sure, a loss would have seen the series tied 2-2, but the Spurs would have all the momentum. They have held double-digit leads in every single game. They have spent more total time ahead. They would have regained home-court advantage. They have Wemby. Et cetera, et cetera.

New York has bounced back before, but time wouldn't have been on its side. Even with two wins already banked and two days rest ahead of Game 5, this felt like a victory it needed.

All the time off in the world wouldn't make up for a frantic comeback falling short. The Knicks would be forced to stew in missed opportunity. Absent the most diehard fans, you'd have been hard-pressed to find anyone who'd pick them to win the series.

None of this is an issue now. So many played a role in staving off that fate. Nobody did more than Anunoby.

Mike Brown said postgame that he challenged his All-Defensive menace to crash the offensive glass. OG listened. And the Knicks now have a commanding 3-1 series lead, and will probably win the championship because of it.

Anunoby for Finals MVP?

Anunoby-for-Finals MVP chatter is about to heat up. It's deserved. And it goes beyond his Game 4 detonation and crunch-time heroics.

OG is now averaging 23.8 points, 1.0 steals and 1.5 blocks for the series while shooting 60.8 percent on twos (14-of-23) and 55.6 percent from beyond the arc (15-of-27). There is not a key member of the Spurs who Anunoby hasn't defended. Nobody on the Knicks is more fearless when it comes to driving on or attacking Wembanyama.

Even Anunoby's postgame presser was legendary.

Asked what he'd do after his performance for the ages, he waxed poetic about watching film, diagnosing the Knicks' 29-point deficit and ensuring it wouldn't happen again. That's real sicko stuff and worth a second statue outside MSG.

This all comes on the heels of a regular season in which Anunoby cemented himself as perhaps New York's second-most important player. The debate between he and Karl-Anthony Towns is real. KAT's peaks can be louder, but Anunoby is forever doing the little things: moving, cutting, sprinting, driving, relocating, defending.

In some ways, his entire Knicks tenure is one giant sliding-doors moment. What happens if the Toronto Raptors opt to trade him for a package built around draft picks rather than RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley? What if the Knicks opt out of those 2024 sweepstakes altogether because they're queasy at the thought of the five-year, $212.5 million deal they eventually gave him?

What if New York traded him as part of an ultra-complicated Giannis Antetokounmpo blockbuster during this past offseason's exclusive negotiating window? What if the strained right hamstring he suffered earlier in the playoffs lingers, and he's not able to operate at his predatory apex?

The answer isn't complicated. Had any of these coin-toss what-ifs panned out differently, the Knicks wouldn't have Anunoby now. More importantly, they wouldn't be on the verge of their first ring in more than 50 years.

Assuming New York finishes the job, Brunson and Towns will receive ample Finals MVP buzz themselves. One of them might even win it. But Anunoby's own case is equally as strong. He's made sure of that, over and over and over again.

In doing so, he has also guaranteed himself a unique place in Knicks lore—not as someone who contributed to the championship ride, but as one of the primary engines who powered it.

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Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.