O.G. Anunoby was healthy and delivered for Raptors in 2022-23 season

Imman Adan and Adon Moss recap O.G. Anunoby's stellar defensive season and the signs of progression offensively. Listen to the full podcast assigning grades for all the starters on the 'Raptors Over Everything' podcast feed.

Video Transcript

IMMAN ADAN: That is-- that is very true. OK, so let's go to the two guard, at least at the latter half of the season, OG Anunoby. You had to give OG Anunoby a grade, what would you give OG?

ADON MOSS: So I think I will grow old and die on the OG hill. Like, he may never come to fruition the way I perhaps have envisioned, or lots of people. But I'm going to-- I'm going to be there to the bitter end.

So I gave him an A-minus.

IMMAN ADAN: Yeah.

ADON MOSS: And it took a little while for him to get into form. Again, injuries, a little bit of kind of this team figuring out-- each other out, who gets touches, what does he do, where does he stand.

There was a moment where it looked like he'd figured out his penetration and his balance and his body control. And then there was a moment where it looked like he was a bull in a china shop again, and drawing offensive fouls all the time, even though I think he unfairly gets charged-- or gets called on those offensive fouls more than he should.

IMMAN ADAN: Agree.

ADON MOSS: Towards the end of the year, it really kind of all came together. Like his mid-range-- he was executing his mid-range really well. He was hitting the 3-pointers, as we know. And it looked like maybe this was finally the next step in the evolution of OG Anunoby, even though if it weren't, it'd be OK.

But yeah, I came off this year really feeling that way. His 2-point percentage, 3-point percentage is way up. His rim attempts are up. His rim field goal percentage is up. So everything's going in the right direction.

And he's-- in my opinion, if All-NBA teams were positionless, he would be First Team, maybe Second Team All-NBA. So--

IMMAN ADAN: Yeah, defensively, he's just been absolutely spectacular. I completely agree with that. I also-- what is the word I'm looking for-- vacillated, oscillated between being an A-minus and a B-plus for an OG Anunoby.

And ultimately, I think if I had to just look at the last two months of the season, OG Anunoby gets an A-plus for me. I'm right there with you in terms of, like, I'm going to forever be a believer in OG Anunoby. I think what he does is so important and so vital to this team.

I think a lot of people sort of slot him in this 3 and D role, which we've seen this season he is not. He can put the ball on the floor. You mentioned it, that mid-range shot started to come along a bit.

Yes, he does get called for far too many offensive fouls. But he's shown the ability to pass out of the post. He's shown the ability to score there. We've seen that sort of come along. We've seen iso OG.

And I think there's a lot more to his game than just sort of being relegated to a 3 and D spot. And we saw in that last month and a half of the season. He was just-- like, that's the best that you can, I think, hope from whatever, you're OG.

That was so much fun to watch. And I want more of that from OG Anunoby.

ADON MOSS: Yeah.

IMMAN ADAN: But I can't ignore that there was a sort of bull in the china shop element to his game at the beginning of the year, especially. And I think a lot of that is health. I think he had, like, a thumb issue or a finger issue, was it at the beginning of the year? There was something there.

And those mid-range shots, none of them hit. OG iso turnover almost immediately. You could sort of factor that in. And I think that that's-- because I'm judging the entire season, that's not something that I can ignore either, which is why I sort of had him at B-plus.

But the fact of the matter is, he should be on an All-Defensive team. And he was this team's best defender. He did lead the NBA in steals. I think all of that matters. So you know what? I'm feeling generous. OG Anunoby, you get an A-minus today.

ADON MOSS: As we were both speaking, I almost feel like an A. I don't know, I just-- the more I hear-- I'm thinking about it, the more--

IMMAN ADAN: I think we talked you into it. A-plus? 100% Perfect? Adon is like, yes. [LAUGHS] No, I-- I can't argue with that.

So you give him an A, and I give him an A-minus. So yeah, that sort of averages it out. A good season, OG Anunoby. I maybe-- maybe there's, like, this immigrant parent in me who's like, you need to work harder. Let's drop you down to a B.

But no, I think he's just-- what he's shown, the steps that he's taken in his game-- I think when we talk about some of these other starters, we're talking about some of them taking a step back. We just did it with Fred VanVleet.

I don't think that we're having this conversation about OG Anunoby. I don't know that we're looking at him having taken a step back this season. I think we're looking at growth and development in different areas of his game.

67 games, too. That's what, 20 more than he played last year? Like, you know, you're still-- like, oh, there's 15 to 20 games still missing there. But much, much better than the last few years as well.

So health being there as well, I think-- yeah, I think it'd be rude to give him anything less than that. So I'm going to-- I'm going to stick with my A-minus. You've given him an A. And we can push forward to a guy who potentially makes the--