CLEVELAND — Mike Brown had a thought he had to get across.
Nobody asked him about it, so he took matters into his own hands.
After he finished answering the final question asked of him during his news conference Sunday, he gave an unprompted statement about OG Anunoby being named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
“I got one more thing before I’m taking off,” Brown said. “You guys can all print this. Great players out there. I’m not discounting anybody, but freakin’ OG got robbed. He should’ve been First Team All-Defense. First Team All-Defense. The versatility he brings to this team — we’re a top five defensive team. Top five defensive team, OK? The versatility that he brings — and everybody always says, ‘Oh, you got [Karl-Anthony Towns], you got Jalen [Brunson], blah, blah, blah.’ The versatility that that guy brings to this team is off the charts, and I hope the voters get it right the next time around. I’m happy he’s second team. He deserves something, but it was wrong.”
Anunoby concurred.
OG Anunoby defends during the Knicks’ Game 2 win over the Cavaliers. Charles Wenzelberg“It was cool to get the recognition,” Anunoby said Sunday. “Anytime you’re recognized by coaches and the media, it’s really cool. The second team is cool. I was hoping I got first team. I thought I should have gotten first team. But second team is good.”
One day prior, after the Game 3 win over the Cavaliers, Towns acted similarly to Brown.
After his and Anunoby’s media availability ended without anyone asking Anunoby about the honor, Towns took action.
“No one wants to ask OG about second team? He’s All-Defense, like c’mon, bruh,” Towns said. “He’s only one of the best defenders in the world, and he got robbed of the first [team].”
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It was the second time Anunoby made the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
Before the season, he was more vocal than usual in declaring his desire to make the first team or win Defensive Player of the Year, claiming that he’s long been wrongly overlooked.
The case he made was that opponents avoid him, meaning he doesn’t record a ton of blocks or steals that voters often prioritize.
“He’s well deserving of it,” Jalen Brunson said. “He’s been tremendous, obviously, defensively. Him being able to guard one through five on any given night has really been a big part of who we are and what we’re allowed to do on defense because of him. Any publicity is good publicity, but I think he was well deserving of that first team.”
