Plus-minus is relatively new when you consider the history of the NBA.
This number was first recorded in the 1996-97 season, and the king of this statistic was Tim Duncan, who never stopped winning with the Spurs and finished with a career plus 10,000.
This is a great indicator of impact and addresses the important question of how much a particular player's team on the court is outscoring or outscoring.
In the case of OG Anunoby, the answer is clearly, and very emphatically, on the positive side.
Since he joined the roster in early 2024, the Knicks have outscored teams by 239 points in Anunoby's 467 minutes, according to NBA.com.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this represents the best plus/minus for a player through his first 13 games with his new team since tracking began.
Who ranks second on that list?
In 2004, Rasheed Wallace was a plus-172 with the Pistons after being traded from the Blazers in February.
It was a championship for Detroit and one of the best in season history.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Anunoby's +239 is the highest 13-game streak in nearly two years since Jayson Tatum hit +240 in February 2022.
“This is pretty wild,” Jalen Brunson said, acknowledging the numbers. “I can't say anything other than he always does the right thing and he does the right thing on both sides of the ball.”
The key to this success has been their defense, which has been elevated to one of the best in the league since Anunoby's arrival.
His defensive versatility and ability to switch to all five positions broke the Knicks' difficult-to-break-through shell.
As a result, opponents scored fewer points, resulting in a record plus/minus for Anunoby.
“He makes life so much easier,” Brunson said. “When he plays defensively, he looks effortless. So what he did was special.”
Julius Randle added, “He always seems to be in the right place.”
That success was felt throughout the roster, including primarily the starting lineup.
Heading into Friday's game, Anunoby's plus-minus was No. 1 in the NBA since the new year.
But Nos. 2, 3 and 5 belong to Brunson (plus-193), Isaiah Hartenstein (plus-159) and Randle (plus-148), respectively.
Thanks to Anunoby's performance, the Knicks are now 11-2 and have won five straight, the longest in the Eastern Conference, heading into Saturday's game against the Heat.
“Well, I think there are two factors to this,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I think that's what OG brings to the team, but it's also what the players here bring to him. When everyone invests in each other, good things can come from that.”
And in basketball, there are few things better than outperforming the other team.
“I expected it,” Anunoby said. “I was hoping to make a difference.”
