5 reasons the Toronto Raptors are must-watch TV this season

2. OG Anunoby could become an elite player in 2022.

The Raptors may have to make do without Pascal Siakam for a few weeks early in the season as he recovers from shoulder surgery in the off-season. This situation opens the door wide for someone to help VanVleet shoulder the scoring load. Gary Trent Jr. comes to mind, but so too does OG Anunoby.

This season Anunoby begins receiving his rookie contract extension salary set at four years and $72 million. He works hard, hustles, defends, and scores. However, offensively, he could improve.

It merely boils down to the player seeking his shot more often. With Siakam potentially missing time early in the year, Anunoby seems the perfect fit to take some of Siakam’s offensive load.

OG Anunoby could become a star.

He averaged 15.9 points on 39.8% shooting from deep and 48.5% from the field. He is a young man who stole a starting position as a rookie, guarded LeBron James in the 2018 playoffs as a rookie, and calmly made a three-pointer against Boston in a 2020 playoff game with .7 seconds to play.

He is ultra-cool, calm, and collected under pressure like so few are and could handle more defensive attention.

This past season made it obvious Anunoby is on the verge of being named to an All-Defensive NBA team or even add an All-Star appearance very soon, and he isn’t far off challenging VanVleet and Siakam for top scorer on the team.