'It's going to be fun': Obi Toppin looking forward to fresh start with Pacers
LAS VEGAS − Obi Toppin didn't want to say too much about the Knicks. Or at least he didn't want to dive too deep below the surface on his time there.
The newly acquired Pacers forward spoke kindly about his teammates and the coaching staff. He acknowledged that he didn't get as much playing time as he wanted, but didn't make a case for why he should have gotten more. He dodged a question about a reported heated verbal altercation between him and Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau after Game 4 of the Knicks' Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Heat.
"I'm not really worried about the past anymore, thinking about that," Toppin said when asked directly about that alleged incident. "All I'm worried about is this new start. A fresh start. I can't wait to get out there."
Leaving New York is bittersweet for Toppin on a number of levels. He's a Brooklyn native, so going to the Knicks was supposed to be a homecoming for the former Dayton star who was the consensus national player of the year in 2020. The Knicks took him with the No. 8 pick in that year's draft. To make it tougher, the Knicks signed his brother Jacob, a former Kentucky star, to an Exhibit 10 deal days after Obi's trade became public and days before it became official.
"I'm super excited for Jacob," Toppin said. "I'm super excited that he has the opportunity to be up here in the league. He's worked extremely hard for this opportunity. Hopefully, we can be on the court again on this level."
The fact that it didn't work out for Toppin wasn't necessarily anyone's fault. He just picked the wrong time to play power forward for the Knicks.
New York acquired Julius Randle as a free agent in 2019. In 2020-21 when Toppin was a rookie, Randle reached his first All-Star game at age 26, averaging 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists establishing himself as one of the NBA's best play-making power forwards. Randle made another All-Star game this season and has averaged at least 35 minutes per game in each of Toppin's three seasons with the Knicks. Thibodeau is well known as a defensive-minded coach and he has prioritized size and rim protection at the center position rather than attempting to get Randle and Toppin on the floor together at the same time. So Toppin has never averaged more than 17.1 minutes per game in a season and averaged 14.7 minutes in his three seasons combined, starting just 15 of his 201 games in a Knicks uniform. He averaged 7.8 points per game last season and is averaging 7.0 for his career after scoring 17.1 per game in two seasons at Dayton.
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"Obviously, it was a dream to have the opportunity to play at MSG and put that Knicks jersey on," Toppin said. "There were great players there, great coaches, everybody was amazing there. ... I didn't get the minutes I wanted, but now it's a new start. I'm here in Indy and I gotta work for everything I want."
In Indy, he doesn't have a completely clear path to a starting job. The Pacers just drafted a power forward, Jarace Walker, with the No. 8 overall pick. Aaron Nesmith and Jordan Nwora, who were getting the power forward minutes at the end of the season, are both back. Both could slide into the small forward rotation as well and Nesmith might be a better fit there at 6-5. But still, there is competition.
But unlike in New York, he has a legitimate chance and isn't buried behind a franchise cornerstone.
Toppin represents a lot of what the Pacers have been missing at the position. Nesmith, who was drafted as a shooting guard out of Vanderbilt, did everything he could to play above his size and became one of the team's two best perimeter defenders. But for as hard as he fought in box outs, height was still an issue as he finished with 3.8 rebounds per game last season in 24.9 minutes per game.
At 6-9, 220 pounds, Toppin shouldn't have that issue. He's recorded a vertical leap of over 40 inches and won the dunk contest on All-Star weekend in 2022. He's averaged just 3.0 rebounds per game in his career, but he has the frame and athleticism to drastically improve on that.
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He fits the Pacers' offensive philosophy and style perfectly. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has pointed out on multiple occasions, even before the trade was final, that Toppin led the NBA in effective field goal percentage in transition last season, and that point guard Tyrese Haliburton finished second, and newly acquired free agent Bruce Brown finished third. The Pacers already led the NBA in fast-break points last season and ranked fifth in pace and 10th in the league in scoring.
"The way we want to play, the identity we have is to play fast," Carlisle said. "... He fits. He's still a young player that can get better and better."
Toppin is ecstatic about that idea and so are his teammates. After the trade became public, Haliburton posted on Twitter that Toppin's speed and leaping ability would allow him to throw passes without thinking, kind of like the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes flinging the ball deep to Tyreek Hill because "Obi up there somewhere."
In his career, Toppin has finished 72.4% of his shots within 3 feet and 63.2% of his 2-point attempts. He has thrown down 188 dunks, which amount to almost 20% of his total field goal attempts.
"It's not secret, everybody knows what I do best on the court," Toppin said. "Run the floor, energy guy. This is a young group who likes to run, was one of the fastest if not the fastest team last year in the league. So yeah, I'm super excited to get out here and get some leak out dunks. You know Tyrese is going to pass it."
But there's more to Toppin's game than just running and dunking. He averaged 20 points per game in his sophomore year at Dayton and shot 39% from 3-point range and nearly 70% from 2-point range that season, so a good bit of that came in the half court. He made 34.4% of his 3-pointers last season, knocking down 85 on 247 attempts. He also dished out 66 assists against 38 turnovers.
"The athleticism speaks for itself," Carlisle said. "We've all seen it. He's an above-the-rim guy, but he plays the game with a lot of feel. And I think he's a guy that can make plays. He puts himself in position to play to his strengths and that's a great thing for a young player."
The Pacers were particularly impressed with Toppin because they happened to catch him on a couple of nights when he got to play. They played the Knicks in two of their last three games of the season. In the first, Toppin played almost 43 minutes and scored 32 points. In the last game of the year, he scored 34 in 36 minutes. He made 24 of his 41 field goal attempts and 10-of-22 3-pointers in those games, and posted a combined 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
"He averaged 24 a game against us and he beat us with running in transition," Carlisle said. "His shooting is on-the-come. He's shooting the ball better each year. We'll find out more as we work with him. But he fits the template of what we're doing. He fits the timeline of what we're doing I like the fact that he's been in a good system."
Obi Toppin helps Pacers at power forward
Toppin's addition bolsters what had been a thin position. Walker has shown in the early going at the Summer League that he could be a factor. Nesmith might best fit at small forward, but he's proven that he'll take on any assignment, and the Pacers might need to get him some work at the 4 for defensive purposes. Nwora's career arc has some similarities to Toppin as the former All-American from Louisville was stuck on the bench in Milwaukee, but he proved at the end of last season that he could score in real minutes, averaging 13.0 points per game in 24 games after being acquired in February.
"Our roster has got a lot more competitive in the last few weeks," Carlisle said. "Competition brings out the best in everybody. That's the way we'll have to look at it. There's going to be plenty of opportunity for guys to get minutes. The competition we have at the 4 position, the 5 position is going to be great. ... There had been a big hole there for many years. Jarace was part of the equation and Obi is part of the equation too. Nwora came in and he played predominantly at the 4 position and did a good job for us. We have three players at that spot that all play a little differently and all do things that are important to us. Aaron will end up playing some 4, but we'll have to see."
Toppin isn't shying away from the competition. After his time in New York, he's just happy to have a real chance.
"Nothing is going to be handed to me," Toppin said. "Everything has to be worked for, so that's what I'm going to do as soon as I step foot out there in Indy, work for everything I have. When that opportunity comes, it's going to be fun."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Obi Toppin looking forward to new start with Pacers
