Home NBA Pascal Siakam hopes OG Anunoby gets some love for DPOY: ‘He’s gifted’

Pascal Siakam hopes OG Anunoby gets some love for DPOY: ‘He’s gifted’

Photo: Toronto Raptors/Twitter

Amid much favoritism of many towards either Brook Lopez or Jaren Jackson Jr., Pascal Siakam is hoping that OG Anunoby will gain his flowers for this season’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

Siakam was all praise and acknowledgment of Anunoby’s defensive talent and versatility in his postgame presser, as the wingman helped the Toronto Raptors in stomping the Miami Heat at home, 106-92.

“He’s been awesome. He’s gifted,” Siakam said of Anunoby. “You know, not a lot of people can do that. He goes out there every single night. And I think for me, or at least in my humble opinion, is like he’s taking it as a challenge every single night, he’s out there guarding the best player. 

“I said it earlier in the year, he can do that and just like the fact that he’s focused on that, using what kind of like God gave him, he just does it. It seems easy but it’s really hard to do it on a nightly basis.”

Standing at six-foot-seven in height while having that rugged body and lengthy wingspan, Anunoby has been the Raptors’ primary defensive ace throughout the years.

Thanks to his size and provided physical traits, Anunoby has been widely recognized for being one of the most versatile defenders in the league. He can defend multiple positions from guards to fellow wings and imposing big men.

To further highlight his defensive masterclass through the stat sheet, he leads the league in steals average (2.0) and deflections (3.7) while sitting in the top five in terms of loose balls recovered per game (0.9).

“He’s been awesome for us and that role,” Siakam continued. “I hope he get some nods for the Defensive Player of the Year because he’s doing that every single night. Not a lot of people can do that.”

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