This story is part of Peak, The Athletic’s desk covering the mental side of sports. Sign up for Peak’s newsletter here.Tom Crean was the head coach at Indiana, where he coached OG Anunoby for two years. He is now an NBA and college basketball analyst.This was coming.I watched Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night from a hotel room. Early on, I could see OG Anunoby’s confidence. I’ve known him since he was 16. He was ready.In the closing seconds of the game, after he blocked a shot on the other end, he took the ball out of bounds to inbound it for the final play. I saw the way the San Antonio Spurs were playing him and thought: He’s going to be open if he stays on the perimeter.He passed the ball to Jalen Brunson. It was easily trending that Brunson was going to shoot the ball in that situation, with the New York Knicks down one. I watched OG.He saw Brunson start his shooting motion, and instead of standing, waiting, pausing and having his hands up, he took off. He was gone before the ball was even in the air. He was in position for the game-winning putback before people even realized he had left.OG Anunoby flies in for the game-winning tip in, completing an NBA Finals 29-pt comeback by the Knicks, who now lead the series 3-1 byu/Large_banana_hammock insportsWe worked on that so much in college: the first two steps to the glass. That play epitomized sprinting to the rim. That’s a mentality as much as anything.If he was a second late, maybe the Spurs get a body on him. However, it isn’t even about what San Antonio didn’t do in that situation. It isn’t. It’s way more about how ready OG was to go there.That’s who he is.He is the epitome of a guy who has a lot of natural athletic ability, a lot of talent — the body, the strength — but who has never, ever worked or played like he’s arrived. And that’s exactly how he’s been since I met him.