Knicks keep OG Anunoby with five-year, $212.5M deal

OG Anunoby and the New York Knicks agreed to a five-year, $212.5 million deal on Wednesday, two days after he opted out of the final year of his existing deal.

Contract terms were reported by The Athletic and ESPN less than an hour before the NBA draft began on Wednesday.

Rather than hit free agency when the NBA market opens Sunday, Anunoby remains in the fold even after the Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets for multiple draft picks.

Anunoby signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the Toronto Raptors in 2020 with a player option for the 2024-25 season, but he declined the $19.9 million salary for next season to set up the massive contract agreement Wednesday.

Results were indisputable with Anunoby on the court in New York: the Knicks were 20-3 in games he played after the trade from Toronto that sent RJ Barrett to the Raptors.

Health is the biggest question mark on Anunoby’s resume. He missed 76 total games the past three seasons due to injuries and did not play during Toronto’s NBA title run in 2019 following an emergency appendectomy.

Anunoby turns 27 next month. He averaged 14.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last season in 50 total regular-season games with the Raptors (27 games) and Knicks.

During the 2024 playoffs, Anunoby went from an essential cog in beating the Philadelphia 76ers to attempting to fight through a hamstring injury in the seven-game series with the Indiana Pacers.

In 418 career games, Anunoby has averaged 12.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals during his first seven NBA seasons.

–Field Level Media/ Reuters