Welcome to "That One Play!" Throughout the 2022-23 NBA season, our staff at The Sporting News will break down certain possessions from certain games and peel back the curtains to reveal their bigger meaning.
Today, Raptors forward O.G. Anunoby takes the spotlight.
The play
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Breakdown
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander brings the ball up for the Thunder following a dunk from Anunoby.
Gilgeous-Alexander is being defended by Fred VanVleet. The other Raptors on the court are Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr., Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl. Anunoby and Barnes match up with Isaiah Joe and Luguentz Dort in opposite corners, Trent defends Tre Mann on the wing and Poeltl picks up Jaylin Williams.
Gilgeous-Alexander wastes no time running a pick-and-roll with Williams. He doesn't actually use the screen, but he's immediately met by Poeltl while VanVleet stays glued to his hip.
Only 12 players are averaging more points per game as the ball handler in pick-and-rolls than Gilgeous-Alexander this season. He's been incredibly efficient, scoring at a rate of 1.00 points per possession to rank in the 81st percentile. His shot chart tells you everything you need to know about how versatile of a scorer he's become.
Poeltl extending himself to the 3-point line and Barnes helping off of Dort prevents Gilgeous-Alexander from turning the corner. The problem? It opens up a pocket pass to Williams rolling toward the basket.
You'd think that would leave the Raptors vulnerable to a layup, but Anunoby is on the move before Williams even touches the ball.
Anunoby is giving up a couple of inches to Williams, but he times his jump perfectly to block his shot.
MORE: Fred VanVleet is proving to be biggest winner from Jakob Poeltl trade
Why it matters
A couple of reasons.
One, Anunoby's block led to this beauty from Poeltl:
Anunoby followed it up with another defensive stop that led to another bucket for Poeltl.
Anunoby then did this to Dort:
(Yes, Anunoby was whistled for a foul, but it sure looks like Trent and Barnes disagreed.)
Two, Anunoby has been playing at an All-Defensive level all season long, but he's been on a particularly impressive stretch lately. Over the last few weeks, he's been the primary defender on Bradley Beal, DeMar DeRozan, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis and Nikola Jokic.
That's an All-Star shooting guard, three All-NBA forwards and a center who might win three straight MVP awards.
Here's how they each fared when matched up with Anunoby according to the NBA's tracking data:
| Player | Games | Minutes | Points | FGM-FGA | Turnovers |
| DeMar DeRozan | 1 | 8:14 | 3 | 0-1 | 1 |
| Bradley Beal | 2 | 16:26 | 6 | 2-12 | 2 |
| Nikola Jokic | 2 | 16:37 | 21 | 9-12 | 7 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 1 | 10:02 | 9 | 4-8 | 0 |
| Anthony Davis | 1 | 9:41 | 4 | 2-5 | 1 |
What's unique about Anunoby is that he's not just a defensive stopper. He doubles as one of the NBA's most disruptive help defenders. Following Toronto's win over Oklahoma City, he is now up to a total of 153 steals and blocks on the season (otherwise known as stocks), putting him behind eight players for the most in the league. He's also tied with VanVleet for a league-best 3.7 deflections per game.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault broke down Anunoby's defensive versatility well prior to Thursday's game.
"I think his combination of size and strength and agility gives him kind of a wide range of players he can guard," Daigneault said, per The Athletic's Eric Koreen. "He allows them to move him around the lineup very effectively. He's guarding Anthony Davis the other night in L.A. He can also guard guards. He guarded Shai the first time he played us. If you just think of those two players, there is a wide range of players inside that he can guard.
"The best defenders (come in) two categories: either they're very versatile like that or just high-impact, like a [Rudy] Gobert. Gobert is not guarding every guy, but he's high-impact. Dort has a combination of the two but is more high-impact on the guy he's guarding. Anunoby is just as versatile as they come."
To Daigneault's point, the Raptors had Anunoby chase Gilgeous-Alexander around the first time the two teams met this season. On Thursday, Anunoby spent the first half guarding Josh Giddey and Dort, which allowed him to roam and make more plays like the ones above. He then guarded Gilgeous-Alexander down the stretch to give him a different look.
Even though the Raptors are a below-average defensive team, it was yet another reminder of everything that makes Anunoby worthy of a spot on an All-Defensive team this season.
