Knicks' OG Anunoby reportedly playing in Game 1 against Cavs in Eastern Conference finals
ESPN says New York's two-way threat is good to go.
After missing the final two games of the second round with a left hamstring strain, New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby is “going to be playing in Game 1” of the 2026 Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday. BREAKING: Shams confirms that OG Anunoby will be AVAILABLE for Game 1 tomorrow 🔥 pic. twitter.
com/0xRWWGhSxP — The Strickland (@TheStrickland) May 18, 2026 “That’s the most important thing to come out of the second round for [the Knicks],” Charania said during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show. ” As of 4:15 p. m.
ET on Monday, the Knicks had not yet submitted their injury report for Tuesday’s Game 1, leaving Anunoby’s official status unclear. Anunoby suffered the injury late in Game 2 of the Knicks’ second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers. He exited that game, a 108-102 Knicks win , with two and half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and was later diagnosed with a hamstring strain.
The initial reporting suggested Anunoby had avoided a serious injury and was considered day-to-day rather than week-to-week. Still, New York erred on the side of caution, holding Anunoby out of Games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia. The Knicks won both, securing a sweep that granted them an extended rest ahead of the conference finals — a period that allowed Anunoby to heal up while the Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons contested a series that wound up going the distance.