Who is the best defender on the Toronto Raptors?
2. OG Anunoby
OG Anunoby had a rough year and dealt with factors on and off-court. His role was minimized from guarding the best player in 2017-2018 to being at best the 3rd best defender while coming off the bench last season. However, he was still a versatile defender despite the roadblocks he came across.
Before the Raptors made the trade for Kawhi, they used Anunoby for a large number of their defensive possessions when they needed a stop. Not just for forwards, but guards. During the 2017-2018 season, Anunoby as a rookie was asked to slow down Jrue Holiday with 7 minutes left in the 4th. Holiday had 32 points before OG started to defend him, he finished with only 34 points.
7 mins left, Raps down by 2 & rookie forward OG Anunoby is out here with the starters guarding point guard Jrue Holiday, who has 32 pts
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) November 10, 2017
He has also had multiple stand out games against some of the NBA elites. His first start of the season came against James Harden who he held to 0-for-7 shooting and four turnovers. During his first playoffs as a rookie, OG did a great job defending LeBron James by holding him to 42.9-percent shooting in game 1.
OG ends up so high on this list given his effectiveness to guard nearly every position. Not many players are considered a mismatch for him. Even this year he did a good job in a minimized role. He still had a positive defensive plus/minus and players only shot 33-percent from three against him. With more minutes being available after Leonard and Green’s departure, you can expect big improvements from OG Anunoby.