Peter Okereke
With the New York Knicks now in the NBA Finals, the team awaits the winner of Saturday night’s Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs.
In the meantime, the Knicks are dealing with an injury to big man Mitchell Robinson who’s seen as one of the team’s key players. Robinson has undergone surgery on his right pinky finger, putting his status in question for the start of the NBA Finals, though reports say he intends to play.
Now, his teammate OG Anunoby has spoken out about the center’s pivotal importance to the team. The veteran forward signed a 5-year, $212,500,000 contract with the New York Knicks, including a guaranteed annual salary of $42,500,000 back in July 2024, according to Spotrac.
“Mitch [Robinson] is very important to us, an amazing player – unfortunate what happened, but we’ll take it day-by-day,” Anunoby said, per SNY Knicks.
Mitchell Robinson plans to return for Knicks in NBA Finals
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on the surgery that Robinson “fully plans to play” in the first game of the NBA Finals, “while wearing a brace on his hand.”
“Mitchell Robinson has undergone surgery on his broken right pinky finger — and fully plans to play in the New York Knicks’ Game 1 of the NBA Finals against OKC or San Antonio next Wednesday while wearing a brace on his hand, sources tell ESPN,” Charania wrote on X ( formerly Twitter).
There’s no denying that Robinson is crucial to the team’s bench as the backup center to Karl-Anthony Towns, as the star himself would speak about the depth of the Knicks after their triumph in the Eastern Conference Finals.
“We trust everyone in this locker room,” Towns said, via SNY Knicks. “If this playoff run has shown anything, 1 through 15 can go out there, put a Knicks jersey on and get the job done.”
New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown spoke on Friday, and while the reason for the pinky injury is still unknown, it did not occur in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers or in practice, per Ian Begley.
