LeBron James says OG Anunoby was Knicks’ Finals MVP over Brunson

PHILADELPHIA — Oct. 14, 2026 — LeBron James still gives Jalen Brunson his flowers as the official NBA Finals MVP. On Mind the Game with Steve Nash, though, James said the Knicks’ steadiest Finals force was OG Anunoby.

LeBron James weighed in on his Mind The Game podcast why OG Anunoby should have been the NBA Finals MVP over Jalen Brunson.

"OG, I think, was the MVP of the team in the Finals. Obviously, Brunson became the MVP. But it's the small things: the chase-down block on Fox, the tip for… pic.twitter.com/EHtpTRkj8j

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 14, 2026

“The most steady person”

SNY Knicks highlighted the exchange Wednesday as James and Nash previewed the 2026-27 season. Bleacher Report, ClutchPoints and Yahoo Sports all carried the same stretch of the podcast, where James separated Brunson’s award from who he thought set the tone series-long.

“OG, I think, was the MVP of the team in the Finals. Obviously, Brunson became the MVP. But it’s the small things: the chase-down block on Fox, the tip for the game, continuing to knock down threes,” James said. “We knew Jalen Brunson was the head of the snake. But I think OG was the most steady person for that team.”

Game 4 context

Those “small things” pointed straight at Game 4 at Madison Square Garden on June 10, when New York erased a 29-point deficit and beat San Antonio 107-106. Anunoby chased down De’Aaron Fox for a late block, then tipped in Brunson’s missed three with 1.2 seconds left. He finished with 33 points that night; Brunson had 36.

Brunson still took home Finals MVP after averaging 32.6 points in the five-game series and dropping 45 in the Game 5 clincher. Anunoby was New York’s second-leading Finals scorer and, in James’s telling, the constant — defense, corner threes and the decisive tip.

James also praised how Mike Brown’s Knicks competed and said New York “got contributions from everybody,” naming the same Josh Hart and supporting-cast energy that defined the title run. The conversation lands days before James’s new Philadelphia 76ers open the regular season at the Knicks on Oct. 20.