- Anunoby had been traded to the Knicks from the Toronto Raptors last month.
- He was acquired by RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, fan favorites at the time.
- DailyMail.com provides the latest international sports news.
New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby will miss three weeks of action after requiring surgery to remove a loose bone fragment in his right elbow, according to multiple sources.
The procedure is considered “minor,” and Anunoby is expected to resume his basketball activities in late February or early March at the latest, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Before the injury, Anunoby was averaging 15.1 points in 33.3 minutes per game, along with 2.7 assists and 3.9 rebounds. He was shooting 48.9 percent overall from the field and 37.4 percent from behind the arc.
The UK-born player had been traded from the Toronto Raptors to the Knicks in December for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickly and a second-round pick. Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn were also part of that trade.
New York will face the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, the first game of many Anunoby will miss.
OG Anunoby, who was traded to the Knicks in December, won’t return until late February or early March.
The Knicks hope to at least have Jalen Brunson available to play against his former team, although the odds of that happening appear to be fairly split due to an ankle injury.
Another Knicks star, Julius Randle, will not play against Dallas due to a shoulder problem.
New York has lost its last three meetings against the Mavericks, including a 128-124 loss on Jan. 11 in Dallas. Kyrie Irving scored 44 points to lead the Mavericks.
The Knicks won for the 10th time in 11 games on Tuesday, as Brunson scored 27 points in a 123-113 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Brunson left the game in the fourth quarter with a sprained right ankle, but early reports are optimistic that he avoided a serious injury.
“Playing with him for so long and getting to know him, I said, ‘Are you okay?’ And he said, ‘I’m fine,’ and I didn’t ask anything after that,” said Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo, who also played with Brunson at Villanova. ‘I don’t worry about Jalen at all. He’s one of the toughest guys in the league. I am not worried.’
Jalen Brunson is a major doubt for Thursday’s game against Dallas, while Julius Randle will miss due to a shoulder injury.
New York improved to 19-6 at home after leading from start to finish against Memphis. DiVincenzo scored a game-high 32 points, and Isaiah Hartenstein and Precious Achiuwa each added 17.
The Knicks are 16-3 in their last 19 games despite battling the injury bug.
Before Friday’s NBA trade deadline, the Knicks traded guards Quentin Grimes, Ryan Arcidiacono and Evan Fournier, along with Flynn and two second-round picks to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.
It remains to be seen if Bodgdanovic and Burks will make their Knicks debuts Thursday night against Dallas. New York will then host the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.
New York is fourth in the Eastern Conference standings with a 33-18 record, behind the Boston Celtics (39-12), Cleveland Cavaliers (33-16) and Milwaukee Bucks (33-18).