Giannis Antetokounmpo is frustrated. The signs are visible, from how long he took to address the media postgame to the way he’s speaking about his teammates after a 116-94 dismantling at the hands of the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Friday.
The Milwaukee Bucks season record slumped to 2-7, and the former MVP wasn’t mincing words. Postgame, he voiced his discontent, calling out teammates he felt were failing to bring the intensity a championship contender demands.
Then came the question he had to know was coming: What did OG Anunoby do to throw him off his game?
An 11-for-21 shooting performance would be a solid night for most NBA players, but it fell short for Antetokounmpo, who notched only 24 points — six below his season average — and attempted just six free throws. Asked if Anunoby, who had been assigned to guard him, had disrupted his rhythm, Antetokounmpo replied flatly, “No.”
When pressed, he doubled down. “No.”
Yet to the sellout crowd of 19,812 at a roaring MSG, the answer had already played out on the court. They’d watched as Anunoby — a centerpiece of the Knicks’ defense, inked to a franchise-record $212.5 million contract specifically for nights like these — repeatedly thwarted Antetokounmpo’s drives and contested his shots. In their eyes, Anunoby had indeed made his mark, putting on a defensive clinic that demonstrated why the Knicks value him so highly, and why they signed a player who is not expected to be a focal part of their offense to the richest contract in the team’s storied history.
“He’s special. He’s so special [with] what he brings to the defensive end,” said Knicks All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns. “I’ve been in the league a decade now, and I don’t know many people like OG. [He’s] one of the best defenders I’ve ever seen, and I’ve played with [four-time Defensive Player of the Year] Rudy Gobert. He’s special. I can’t say that enough.”
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Most defenders approach the league’s elite scorers with a single, often desperate game plan: get physical, try to break their rhythm, and make every shot as tough as possible. But in Antetokounmpo’s case, even that blueprint can be wishful thinking. At 6-11 and 243 pounds, the Greek Freak is as much a force of nature as a basketball player — a battering ram in motion, nearly unstoppable when he gets downhill.
Yet Anunoby is no ordinary defender.
This was his 16th matchup with Antetokounmpo, his second since the Knicks acquired him via a December trade that sent RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to Toronto. By now, Anunoby has internalized the Bucks star’s habits, tendencies, and split-second decisions. His preparation starts in the film room, scrutinizing every angle and move, but as he puts it: “I’ve played him enough to know what he does. He’s a great player, so just try to make it as difficult as possible.”
And few possessions in Friday’s game illustrated that approach more than a sequence midway through the first quarter.
The play was unmistakably drawn up for Antetokounmpo, who called for an off-ball screen in the paint to create space. Anunoby shrugged off the screen attempt, denying him a clean entry and forcing him to reset in the low post. Using his strength, savvy, and unflinching footwork, Anunoby steered the Bucks’ star out to the three-point line, where he’s far less comfortable. With time ticking down on the shot clock, Taurean Prince was forced into an off-balance pass, and Anunoby tipped it away for his first of three steals on the night — all involving Antetokounmpo.
“OG is very unique: he’s got strength, speed, anticipation, and a second, third-effort mentality,” said head coach Tom Thibodeau. “A lot of what he does goes unnoticed, but his teammates have great appreciation for him. You can’t measure the little things he does on every possession.”
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If it looked like business as usual for Anunoby, it’s because for him, it was.
The Knicks’ defensive stopper plays the league’s best scorers like it’s his purpose, challenging each movement, anticipating every play. Few NBA teams have a player who can stand toe-to-toe with the game’s elite night after night, with the possible exceptions of the Timberwolves’ Jaden McDaniels, the Rockets’ Dillon Brooks, and the Pelicans’ Herb Jones.
Anunoby, however, brings an edge in versatility: he has the skill, the instincts, and the IQ to disrupt a star’s rhythm.
“It looks so easy and effortless, the way he’s able to do it,” said Knicks captain Jalen Brunson. “It’s pure talent, the way he’s able to guard on and off the ball. He’s been great since he’s been a Knick.”
Even Anunoby, as calm and measured as ever, acknowledged his role, yet downplayed his own performance.
He’d been whistled for two fouls early in the first quarter, allowing Antetokounmpo to find a rhythm he otherwise couldn’t sustain. When they last met in April, Anunoby had dealt with similar early fouls, but the Bucks star’s scoring spree wasn’t enough to save Milwaukee that night. And it wasn’t enough on Friday.
“Yeah, I slowed him down, but we won by 20,” Anunoby said. “And that’s all that matters, anyway.”
In the Knicks’ view, however, how they won matters nearly as much as the victory itself. While Towns’ 32 points powered the offense, it was Anunoby’s defensive prowess that set the tone, propelling the Knicks to their fourth win of a season brimming with championship potential.
The Knicks re-signed Anunoby for moments exactly like this: to face down the NBA’s elite, to rise as their answer to unstoppable stars, and to make it clear why he’s worth every dollar of the richest contract in Knicks history.
Because when Anunoby steps on the floor, his impact doesn’t rely on scoring alone. It’s a quiet confidence, a constant presence that shifts the momentum without fanfare.
Antetokounmpo may say nothing out of the ordinary happened, but for the Knicks, that was exactly the point.
