Indiana Basketball: OG Anunoby continues career year with breakout game

The former Indiana basketball forward continues to have a breakout season and showcased his ceiling with a career performance on Tuesday.

In a roller-coaster of a past 16 months for the Toronto Raptors, patience has been key for one of the major role players on the roster, former Indiana basketball forward OG Anunoby. On Monday night, however, that patience paid off.

After spending all of last year in the shadows of Kawhi Leonard and the breakout of Pascal Siakam, Anunoby remained as second fiddle on the wing behind an All-Star season from Siakam this year. Despite having a career-year, nobody seems to be talking much about the growth and development of Anunoby.

Scoring a career-high 25 points and grabbing a career-high-tying 12 rebounds, Anunoby helped lead the Raptors to a 15th straight win on Monday. Going 10-of-13 from the field, he drained three threes and added three steals and three assists to just one turnover, showing off his well-rounded game.

Anunoby is averaging 10.4 points on 50 percent shooting, and 5.4 rebounds per game this season, all career-highs. In addition, his three-point range is finally starting to come around. Someone who has never been known for his consistent jump shot is shooting 37.6 percent from three this season.

For the Raptors, they currently sit at second in the Eastern Conference at 40-14, 6.5 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Bucks.

Starting all 52 games he has played in this season, Anunoby has become one of the main contributors for the Raptors and continues to develop into one of the best young wings in the NBA.

Though he won’t have games like Monday’s on a consistent basis, the potential is there for Anunoby to be a big-time player in the league. Just midway through his third season, he looks primed to be a major problem for opposing teams come playoff time, when the Raptors look to defend the NBA Title.