NBA: 10 most underrated performers of the season so far

5. OG Anunoby

The Toronto Raptors came into this season hoping that OG Anunoby would be able to take the leap that Pascal Siakam took last year. And while those were unrealistic expectations, OG isn’t far off. Anunoby’s offensive production certainly isn’t what Siakam’s is, but his defensive impact more than makes up for it.

OG Anunoby recently had back to back games of six and seven steals against the Charlotte Hornets and Denver Nuggets respectively. This massive defensive impact did gain some notoriety, however, OG’s overall season has not been getting the respect it deserves. Anunoby is a virtual lock to make an All-Defense team in my opinion but he has not been getting talked about in that respect.

When people mention this year’s potential All-Defense candidates you hear about Tucker, Jrue Holiday, Marcus Smart and so on. Maybe now people will begin to realize that Anunoby is averaging 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks per game while guarding the other team’s best player nearly every single game.

In addition to Anunoby’s defensive impact, he has been solid on the offensive end of the floor too. OG is averaging 10.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game with shooting splits of .506/.378/.695. Aside from the below-average free-throw percentage, Anunoby has improved exponentially in every respect this season and is slowly becoming one of the leagues more underrated players.