After missing the final two games of the second round with a left hamstring strain, New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby is “going to be playing in Game 1” of the 2026 Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday.
“That’s the most important thing to come out of the second round for [the Knicks],” Charania said during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
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As of 4:15 p.m. ET on Monday, the Knicks had not yet submitted their injury report for Tuesday’s Game 1, leaving Anunoby’s official status unclear.
Anunoby suffered the injury late in Game 2 of the Knicks’ second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers. He exited that game, a 108-102 Knicks win, with two and a half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and was later diagnosed with a hamstring strain. The initial reporting suggested Anunoby had avoided a serious injury and was considered day-to-day rather than week-to-week.
Still, New York erred on the side of caution, holding Anunoby out of Games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia. The Knicks won both, securing a sweep that granted them an extended rest ahead of the conference finals — a period that allowed Anunoby to heal up while the Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons contested a series that wound up going the distance.
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“Thankfully for [the Knicks], it was a sweep, allowed him to rest,” Charania said Monday. “And now, because they were able to get even more additional days, he’s going to be good to go for Game 1 tomorrow night.”
Anunoby returned to practice last week and was a full participant in New York’s on-court work over the weekend. He told reporters at the Knicks’ practice facility Saturday that he’s feeling good ahead of the team’s second consecutive trip to the NBA’s final four, and that this hamstring issue hasn’t felt as acute or problematic as prior injuries like the one he suffered in November or during the 2024 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Indiana Pacers.
“It didn’t feel as bad as the past when it happened,” Anunoby said, according to Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. “So knowing that, just trying to improve it day by day.”
As the ninth-year veteran has ramped back up during the Knicks’ wait, he hasn’t appeared to lose a step, according to teammate Mikal Bridges.
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“He’s been back and he looks good to me,” Bridges told reporters. “So I think maybe the crowd, maybe the fans and media worried a little bit more, but I know how OG works and how his body is, so I think he’ll be all right.”
Anunoby was much better than “all right” before the injury, getting off to a roaring start to the 2026 postseason. The 28-year-old is averaging 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and more than six combined steals, blocks and deflections per game in the playoffs, shooting a scorching 67% on 2-pointers, 54% on 3-pointers and 81% from the foul line, all while playing elite on- and off-ball defense across multiple positions. That two-way performance has Anunoby grading out as one of the top performers in the playoff field, according to multiple advanced metrics; getting him back in the fold at full strength would be a major help in New York’s effort to return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
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“I think everyone’s excited for the games to start, so just letting the other series play out,” Anunoby said Saturday, according to Mahoney. “So if it was tomorrow — it’s going to be Tuesday now — just be ready whenever it is.”
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