Toronto Raptors: 3 goals for OG Anunoby to reach in 2021-22

3. Make First-Team All-Defense.

Anunoby suffered through some tough injuries last season, and that may have been what led to him only getting a handful of All-Defensive team votes. The phrase “capable of guarding all five positions” is quickly being run into the ground, but Anunoby is one of the few players in the league that can live up to the hype.

Anunoby’s ability to math up with strong centers and lock down speedy guards has been proven to help Toronto come through with wins late in games. As much as he is improving as a scorer, his defense will always be his meal ticket, and he might finally get the recognition he deserves this year.

OG Anunoby is one of the best defensive players in the game.

Winning Defensive Player of the Year may be tough, both because players like Rudy Gobert and Ben Simmons will present a challenge and because voters often select players from contending teams. There’s a reason Matisse Thybulle snuck on to the Second Team last year!

If the Raptors make it to the postseason and Anunoby continues to lock people down, the voters will quite literally have no justification for leaving Anunoby off, admitting through their hypothetical non-vote that they either don’t watch the Raptors or simply value box score stats like steals and blocks.

Even with those obstacles, First Team may come to fruition for Anunoby this year.