Mike Brown apologizes for his French, ladies and gentlemen — particularly the children watching the MSG Networks’ Knicks postgame broadcast at home — but OG Anunoby has only been named to an NBA All-Defensive Team once in his career.

“He has one Second Team [honor] — oh, in his career? That’s bulls–t,” Brown said after the Knicks beat the Chicago Bulls by 40 on Friday. “I can say that with a straight face because he’s a great defender, and he does a lot of different things that people don’t see on that end of the floor for us and for other teams [the Raptors] that he played for.”

It’s not the only piece of BS at play.

Because the NBA has implemented a policy requiring players to reach a specific workload threshold to qualify for end-of-season awards.

And Anunoby, the Daily News has learned, has not yet reached that benchmark — even though he’s played the minimum 65 games in an NBA season.

The star Knicks wing suffered a hamstring injury five minutes into a Nov. 14 matchup against the Miami Heat. As a result, the game does not count toward the 65 needed to qualify for awards like MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, All-NBA or All-Defensive Teams.

The NBA’s games-played policy requires a player to log 20 or more minutes in 65 games, with an exception allowing two games between 15 and 20 minutes. Anunoby has appeared in 65 games when you include the NBA Cup Final victory over the San Antonio Spurs, but he must play one more game for at least 15 minutes to officially qualify for All-Defensive Team consideration.

That’s just to qualify. Then, he’ll have to earn the votes.

And even though his defensive impact has spoken for itself over the course of his career, Anunoby has just one All-Defensive nod in nine seasons.

“Sheesh. That’s surprising,” said teammate Miles McBride, who watched in real time as the Knicks won 20 of the first 23 games Anunoby played after his arrival in the December 2023 trade with the Toronto Raptors. The Knicks are 107-54 in games Anunoby has played since the deal. They are 27-23 in games he’s missed.

“He’s like a roamer. He’s like a [NFL] nickel[back] for us, honestly,” McBride continued. “He can guard down. He can guard up. I mean, I think that speaks to his motor and his work ethic. But he’s super important for us. The things he can do, his versatility is just huge for us and it takes us to another level when he’s locked in.”

The former Raptor believes his time in Toronto kept his defensive impact under the radar. Yet he did not make either First or Second Team when traded to the Knicks in the middle of the 2023-24 season. He didn’t make it last year, and quite frankly, he won’t be surprised if he doesn’t make it this year — even though it’s one of his top priorities coming into every NBA season.

“I think I should have got [All-Defense] more, for sure. I think I should have got it last year. I think I should get it this year,” he said after scoring 31 points in Friday’s win over the Bulls. “That’s definitely a goal of mine coming into the year, especially defensively, being on the First Team or Second Team.

“Hopefully First.”

Anunoby isn’t convinced the New York spotlight will be enough to sway voters.

“Hopefully,” he said. “Hopefully. We’ll see.”

Anunoby is averaging 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. He ranks 12th in defensive rating among players averaging 30 or more minutes and ninth in net rating among that group. His 1.6 steals per game rank ninth among players who’ve appeared in at least 64 games and fourth among players averaging 30 or more minutes in that group.

Last season, Anunoby played a career-high 74 games but did not make an All-Defensive Team. Instead, Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels, OKC’s Lu Dort, Golden State’s Draymond Green, Cleveland’s Evan Mobley and Houston’s Amen Thompson earned First Team honors, while Ivica Zubac (Clippers), Rudy Gobert (Minnesota), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis/Utah), Toumani Camara (Portland) and Jalen Williams (OKC) made Second Team.

That means voters believed there were 10 better defenders than No. 8 in orange and blue. It’s hard enough to name five, especially five who qualify given the league’s over-restrictive participation policy.

“[OG’s] versatility is off the charts, and you can do a lot of things with your defense because of him,” Brown said. “And he deserves First Team All-Defense this year, and hopefully the powers that be will see it that way, too. Sorry about that to all the kids out there, but it is [bulls–t].”

The Knicks already know what they have in their star wing. The question is whether the league will recognize it — before another All-Defensive team comes and goes without him. Anunoby’s reputation as a dominant defender long preceded his arrival at Madison Square Garden.

It’s about time he gets recognized as such.

“It’s half the game: 50 percent offense. 50 percent defense. I just take pride in [defense]. It’s important, especially for winning games. It’s very important,” Anunoby said. “[I think we’re playing good defense as a team], but I think we can get even better. I think we’ll continue to get better and better and be our best when we get into the playoffs.”