OG Anunoby is still taking in the aftermath of the tip-in that lifted the Knicks past the Spurs in Game 4 and pushed New York within one win of its first title since 1973. On Friday, Anunoby said the response has been constant, but his focus remains on finishing the job.
“Just definitely heard from a lot of people,” Anunoby said, adding that his former Raptors teammates “hit me up” and were “really excited for me, happy for me.” For a player who has already won at the highest levels, the reaction around the shot has been larger than he expected.
Asked about the growing list of people calling the play one of the great moments in New York sports history, Anunoby called it “really cool.” He said, “Everyone’s been telling me how much it means and I obviously see how much it means. It’s just really cool to be a part of it and I’m very grateful.”
The moment has already turned into a city-wide celebration. When told that June 11, 2026, was being treated as “OG Anunoby Appreciation Day” in Manhattan, he smiled through the scale of it.
“I mean, it’s amazing. It’s really cool. It’s really exciting. Yeah, just special. It’s amazing,” Anunoby said.
The flood of attention has followed him everywhere. Asked how many messages were on his phone after Game 4, Anunoby laughed off the specifics.
“I don’t know exactly the number,” he said. “It’s a lot though. I’m not sure how many.”
Anunoby’s shot did not happen in a vacuum. The Knicks erased a 29-point deficit, New York now leads the Finals 3-1, and Game 5 in San Antonio is the next step. Anunoby said the challenge of turning elite performance into consistency has been built on work long before this series.
“I think a lot of preparation off the court with film study and all those things,” he said. “And then just on the court, just being in the gym, working on my game, trying to grow and improve throughout the year or whenever, just always trying to get better. And then also just opportunity.”
That opportunity has expanded during these playoffs, and Anunoby said being ready when it arrives is the key.
“More opportunity to show more and do more things,” he said. “And just being ready for it when you get the opportunity just from the hard work.”
The Knicks’ fan base has turned the series into a traveling home game, and Anunoby said the support has been impossible to ignore.
“I mean, the support, it means everything to us,” he said. “We know we have the best fans in the world. They support and they travel. They show up. They’re loud. They’re rowdy. They’re excited.”
He added, “We all feel that. We play like we feed off their energy.”
Anunoby also reacted warmly to a question that blended soccer history with the scale of the moment, calling a famous Maradona image “a really cool picture” and describing it as “ironic and iconic.”
