Knicks Star OG Anunoby Earns Comparison To Spurs Legends From Mike Brown

Brown once mentioned to HoopsHype, “I learned so many different things working with Gregg Popovich. I can’t thank him enough. His son has no interest in basketball. I told him if I’m ever in a position to hire people, if he called me and said, 'Mike, hire my son as your lead assistant,' I would do it.”

Being a part of the Spurs means witnessing great players year in and year out coming through San Antonio, including the likes of Bruce Bowen, who Mike Brown compared one of his current players to on the Knicks.

Brown Compares OG Anunoby to Spurs Legends

When asked about OG Anunoby as a defender during a media session, Brown said, “First-team All Defense. He is more than capable. Really it’s up to him. That’s how good he is on that end of the floor. And I’ve been around those guys; Bruce Bowen, Tim Duncan. I’ve been around a few of them, and he’s right there.”

That is high praise for a player in Anunoby that is widely considered one of the best wing defenders in the NBA today.

Both Bowen and Duncan were lockdown defenders in their time with the Spurs, but both had different ways of showing it on the court.

Is Anunoby More Like Duncan or Bowen?

Let's make no mistake, Bruce Bowen is one of the best perimeter defenders the NBA has ever seen.

He won five NBA All-Defensive First Team awards and three NBA All-Defensive Second Team awards, winning three titles in 2003, 2005, and 2007 with San Antonio.

When comparing their defensive ratings, it gets a little more believable. Anunoby boasts a 111.3 defensive rating, and Bowen had an incredible 102.2 defensive rating in his career.

While Bowen was a master of on-ball pressure, Anunoby is more versatile, with the size and strength to guard almost every position.

Offensively, Anunoby is more polished, developing more of a dynamic game, while Bowen helped space the floor around the likes of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan.

Speaking of Duncan, he anchored the Spurs' defense for two decades, with a sort of quietness and coolness to his approach. That is where the biggest similarity between Duncan and Anunoby lies.

Duncan's record of 15 All-Defensive Team selections is remarkable, but being fundamentally sound on the defensive end is something that Mike Brown sees in a truly great defender in Anunoby, much like Duncan.

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