OG Anunoby’s 33-point Game 4 and game-winning putback with 1.2 seconds left vaulted him to the top of the NBA Finals MVP Ladder as the Knicks took a 3-1 lead over the San Antonio Spurs.
With 1.2 seconds left in Game 4, OG Anunoby didn’t just make the shot—he made the last second look inevitable.
The Knicks needed one final jolt to finish a comeback, and Anunoby delivered it with a game-winning putback. New York went on to turn that single play into a larger shift: the momentum the series had been flirting with suddenly belonged to them. Because of that play. the Knicks are now up 3-1. holding one of their three elimination games over the San Antonio Spurs.
That tip-in isn’t only a highlight. It already ranks as the biggest offensive rebound in New York Knicks’ history, and one of the biggest in NBA Finals history. It’s the kind of moment that can travel beyond the box score—especially in a Finals where one possession can decide who gets remembered.
Karl-Anthony Towns tried to keep it simple after it happened. “He gave us a chance to win, and that’s all you could ask for from the best two-way player in the NBA,” Towns said.
And the offense wasn’t the whole story. Earlier in the closing stretch of Game 4, Anunoby also delivered a hustle-and-come-from-behind block on De’Aaron Fox. That stop set up the game-winner, tying his impact directly to the swing in the final minutes.
So when the MVP Ladder tipped, it did so in Anunoby’s direction.
On the ladder, Anunoby is now No. 1 for the 2026 NBA Finals MVP race. His Finals numbers are 23.8 points per game, 4 rebounds per game, and 1.3 assists per game.
His case starts with the way he handled the moment. The putback came without the instant, fanatical reaction—Anunoby’s nature has always been calmer than the spotlight. Six years ago in the bubble. he sank a game-winner in the playoffs for the Toronto Raptors and then calmly walked toward the bench. which had already emptied and was ready to smother him. He didn’t do much differently in Game 4. “It feels cool,” he said.
The production backed it up. In Game 4, he scored 33 points on 10-for-15 shooting. Over the last two games, he has 61 points on 19-for-28 shooting, and in the series he’s shooting 55% from deep.
There’s also the shooting profile that’s making defenders adjust in ways they didn’t have to earlier in the run. The stat to know is blunt: Anunoby has made more 3-pointers (15) than Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson combined (14) in the Finals.
He has been consistent from long range in the regular season, shooting 38.6% from 3, even though he averaged fewer 3-pointers per game than Deuce McBride.
Josh Hart framed the larger picture the way a teammate sees it, not the way a highlight reel tries to sell it. “OG, he’s been amazing since he’s got here. This whole playoff run, he’s been amazing on both ends of the ball. He’s a winning player and he made a winning play.”
Anunoby’s place at the top also comes with what the series currently offers—and what it doesn’t. The Knicks have that 3-1 lead because of the Game 4 closing burst. but they still have three elimination games left to finish the job. One moment can raise a player’s stock. Closing a series is a different kind of test.
That’s why Towns is sitting right behind him on the ladder at No. 2.
Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 15.8 points per game, 10.8 rebounds per game, and 2.8 assists per game in the Finals.
His Game 4 looked steady rather than flashy. He shook free of early foul trouble and was on the floor in the fourth quarter. Curiously, until Game 4, Towns hadn’t scored in any of the previous three fourth quarters.
On the defensive end, he helped keep the closing stretch from becoming a Victor Wembanyama takeover. Towns is also keeping pace in the “Big Man Competition,” maintaining a slight edge this series despite the matchup being against someone listed at 7-foot-4.
Wembanyama takes the No. 3 spot on the ladder, with 27.8 points per game, 10.5 rebounds per game, and 3.3 blocks per game.
In a different storyline—one where Anunoby doesn’t get that tip-in—Wembanyama might have been right there at the top. The sequence matters. If the Spurs had gained the bounce instead, the series could have been tied and headed back to San Antonio with a very different kind of momentum.
Even so, Wembanyama has adjusted as the series has gone on. The leap since the first half of Game 1—when he struggled—is visible in how he’s ranked as a factor at both ends. Not everything has been clean, and he hasn’t been perfect, but the Knicks can’t treat him like a manageable problem.
At No. 4, Jalen Brunson brings another kind of pressure to the ladder argument.
Brunson is putting up 29.5 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game, and 5 assists per game in the Finals.
Game 4 was the version of Brunson the Knicks needed: he shook free of faulty shooting with an efficient night, going 12-for-25 from the field and 9-for-11 from the free-throw line for 36 points. It was his best game of the series from tip-to-buzzer.
The other reason he’s staying high is the way the Spurs are reacting to him. San Antonio is putting the most attention into defending him. adding bodies to his path because they know how dangerous he is. The question is straightforward: if Brunson repeats that kind of shooting performance. it’ll be tough for the Spurs to recover.
And then there’s the fifth spot, where Dylan Harper represents both a present contribution and an uncomfortable future for opponents.
Harper is averaging 16.3 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, and 2.8 assists per game in the Finals.
In Game 4, he kept his streak moving with another double-digit scoring game—making him the youngest player to do so in the NBA Finals. He also provided dependable defense.
In the fourth quarter, it stood out how the Spurs searched for Harper when the team struggled. That choice reflected confidence from teammates and coaching staff. Harper is 20, and his 21 points in Game 4 made him the youngest to crack 20-plus in a Finals game.
Beyond scoring, he’s snagging rebounds at a higher rate than any guard in this series. And while he’s still a rookie, his poise has been unusual—though even poise has limits. Harper would like this debut season to extend beyond Game 5 on Saturday.
He sits on the ladder at No. 5 ahead of teammate Stephon Castle.
The Ladder race is still far from finished. The Knicks’ 3-1 edge matters, but in a Finals, it only matters because of what happens next—who turns late-game opportunity into production, and who can’t.
Anunoby has the signature moment now. The series will decide whether it stays there.
OG Anunoby Karl-Anthony Towns Victor Wembanyama Jalen Brunson Dylan Harper Knicks vs Spurs NBA Finals MVP Ladder Game 4
MVP ladder?? man he just tipped it in.
That putback at 1.2 seconds was wild, like how is that even legal lol. Knicks up 3-1 now, so I guess it’s basically over? Spurs gotta be sick.
I don’t really get the MVP ladder part… like MVP of the finals should be based on the whole series right? But apparently one shot can jump you to the top? Also where does KAT fit into this, he’s not even on the Knicks.
Biggest offensive rebound in Knicks history?? I feel like every year they say some rebound was the biggest ever. But yeah that moment definitely flipped whatever momentum they had. 3-1 lead and they got one of those elimination games so Spurs are probably cooked.