Knicks’ OG Anunoby progressing from hamstring strain: ‘We’re not gonna rush him’

OG Anunoby isn’t back in uniform just yet, but the Knicks’ star forward is finally trending in the right direction.

Anunoby, who strained his hamstring during a Nov. 15 matchup with the Miami Heat, has returned to the court for controlled work and three-on-three scrimmaging. He has not been cleared for full-contact practice, but the steps forward are meaningful for a team that’s been shorthanded for most of the season.

“He’s doing some on-court work and [we’re] continuing to monitor him. We’re not gonna rush him,” head coach Mike Brown said ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors. Brown added he does not have a timetable for the forward’s return. “No I don’t, but like I said, he’s doing on-court work, which is a good step for him in the process.”

It’s the most encouraging update the Knicks have offered since Anunoby went down in mid-November — and it comes amid a stretch defined by injuries across the roster. Josh Hart (lower back) and Mitchell Robinson (left ankle) were both limited during the preseason and into opening night. A week after Anunoby went down, Landry Shamet suffered a right-shoulder sprain expected to sideline him for at least a month.

Anunoby’s absence, though, is the one New York has felt most acutely. His defensive rating of 106.4 is the best among the Knicks’ high-minute players, and his versatility has long been the backbone of the team’s schemes. Without him, Brown has been forced to experiment. At first, he kept Robinson and Shamet in the starting lineup. More recently, he shifted Josh Hart into the opening group and moved Miles McBride into Shamet’s spot, with Robinson coming off the bench.

“You’ve got to play other guys, and sometimes you have to play smaller guy against bigger guy. OG’s a big wing,” Brown said. “So you find out who you can throw out there, who you can extend the minutes to. You are not looking for one player to replace OG on either end of the floor. It’s got to be a collective effort. Your team defense has to get a little bit better. I’ve got to give our guys a credit. Our team defense has gotten better and they are trying…. We’re going to run into some hiccups. They’ve been trying to do their best on the defensive end of the floor. Not just with the game plan. But their focus and their effort and physicality without fouling.”

Anunoby is averaging 15.8 points on 39.2% shooting from three in his first season under Brown. The Knicks are 8–4 when he plays this year — and an eye-opening 73–36 in games he’s appeared in since arriving from Toronto in December 2023.

Whenever he returns, the Knicks will welcome him back as one of the pillars of their identity. For now, progress is enough, though it’s clear the Knicks miss him.

“OG is one of the best defenders in the NBA. So it’s going to be an obvious answer,” said Karl-Anthony Towns. “He’s highly valuable to any team. Missing him is big.”