He watched and learned from a master of his class and O.G. Anunoby’s ascension to the very upper levels of NBA defenders is due in part to painful practice lessons imparted by then teammate DeMar DeRozan.
“Playing against him, he’s a very patient player,” Anunoby said of those practices six years ago when DeRozan was honing his formidable offensive skills by tricking the Raptors rookie.
“When I came in I was definitely overaggressive, biting on his head fakes and stuff and just little tricks he had. I definitely learned from him.”
Now Anunoby has to be part of the group that has to figure out how to stop the Chicago Bulls all-star in a sudden-death, play-in game Wednesday at the Scotiabank Arena.