'All-defence absolutely,' Raptors back NBA steals champion O.G. Anunoby for defensive honours

O.G. Anunoby became the first Raptor ever to lead the NBA in steals per game, Fred VanVleet tied for second and Gary Trent Jr. tied for fourth. For good measure, Anunoby joined Marcus Camby as the only Raptors to ever lead the league in a major statistical category .

If Anunoby doesn’t make the all-defensive first team and get votes for defensive player of the year, the voters have gotten it horribly wrong. On any given night, Anunoby will guard a centre, a point guard, or anything in between, all at an elite level. “He really had some tough defensive assignments night after night after night,” Nurse said of Anunoby.Article content

“The steals thing is kind of a unique thing for him. He can really dart into a passing lane at any moment and he’s such a big body and player to do that. Usually those guys are smaller, quicker guys that are just in the mix for that stuff, so that’s unique. But as we have talked about many times, he really has guarded literally every position and had some nights where he’s given some really, really good players a tough time out there,” Nurse said, before going to bat for his player.

“I mean, I hope he gets recognized for that. I can’t see who else does what he does defensively and positionally in the league and does such a good job of that.”“Defensive Player of the Year. All-Defence. Absolutely,” Achiuwa said when asked about Anunoby.Share this article in your social network

Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

'All-defence absolutely,' Raptors back NBA steals champion O.G. Anunoby for defensive honours\u0027All\u002Ddefence absolutely,\u0027 Raptors back NBA steals champion O.G. Anunoby for defensive honours
Source: calgarysun - 🏆 63. / 52 Read more »

Opinion | Raptors mailbag: Dalano Banton, Nick Nurse and the inner workings of a basketball reporterIn the final mailbag of the regular season, Doug Smith answers questions about some Raptors futures and what goes into reporting.
Source: TorontoStar - 🏆 60. / 55 Read more »

Bucks meet Raptors before run as No. 1 seed beginsThe Bucks clinched the No.1 seed in the Eastern Conference this week, have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »

Gary Trent Jr. leads Raptors past Bucks 121-105 in regular-season finaleGary Trent Jr. scored 23 points as the Toronto Raptors downed the Milwaukee Bucks 121-105, with both teams resting key players Sunday ahead of the NBA playoffs. Great . l hope the losers outside the private boxes enjoyed their $ 15 .00 hotdogs and $ 20.00 cups of beer .
Source: CP24 - 🏆 30. / 67 Read more »

Raptors end regular season at .500 with win over short-handed BucksRegular season wraps up with incremental progress for Scottie Barnes and that’s a tiny win for the organization. But work is needed on his shooting.
Source: TorontoStar - 🏆 60. / 55 Read more »

Raptors' Barnes caps regular season showing loads of promise, but questions lingerWith his second season wrapped up, the book on Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes remains roughly the same as it did when it started: A very good player, with a loads of promise, but needing to round out his game to reach it. (michaelgrange) michaelgrange Ujuri and Webster iver estimated this team and did absolutely nothing to improve it either at trade deadline or off season..time Masai and Webster moved on..not Nick Nurse
Source: Sportsnet - 🏆 57. / 59 Read more »