OG Anunoby Leads Nba Finals Winners MVP Race After Game 4

OG Anunoby moved to the front of the nba finals winners conversation after Game 4, when the Knicks authored the biggest comeback in finals history at Madison Square Garden. New York is now on the brink of ending a 53-year title drought, and the Finals MVP race has narrowed to a debate over Anunoby, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Anunoby's Game 4 edge

One roundtable after Game 4 put Anunoby in the lead because of what he has done on both ends throughout the series. Nick Friedell said, "I would go with OG Anunoby." He added, "His plays down the stretch in Game 4 will be remembered forever if the Knicks win, and he has been the most solid two-way performer for the group throughout this series."

That view matched the game-by-game momentum. Jay King called Anunoby's block against De'Aaron Fox one of several swats he had piled up in transition and said the forward had delivered the defining moment of the series. King also said Anunoby had defended at his usual elite level.

Brunson and Towns enter the race

The Knicks' other stars still have a path. Friedell said, "If Jalen Brunson has a big night, he will be the MVP." Tony Jones went further, saying, "I think it should be Anunoby, with Brunson heavily in the conversation." Eric Koreen kept Brunson close as well, saying, "At the risk of relitigating the Steph Curry-Andre Iguodala debate of 2015, I think it’s Anunoby by a hair over Brunson."

Jones also pointed to the uneven run from Karl-Anthony Towns. He said Towns "disappeared in Game 3 and got into foul trouble in the first half of Game 4." Koreen noted the Knicks were plus-40 with Towns on the floor, a figure that keeps him from disappearing entirely in a debate that has otherwise tilted toward Anunoby.

Spurs trail 3-1

Game 4 left the Spurs down 3-1, and only one team had ever won the title after falling into that hole in the finals before this series: LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers a decade ago. That history sits behind Saturday's Game 5, which came after two days off and kept the Finals MVP race tied to what happens next on the floor.

The Knicks have one chance to close the door on the series and a title drought that has stretched 53 years, while the award chase now runs through Anunoby's two-way impact, Brunson's offensive control and Towns' ability to stabilize the middle. The gap is narrow enough that one more big night can still flip the vote.