Obi Toppin to the Knicks @ #8

[BKlutch]

If Obi gets the starting Power Forward spot by the end of the season, can we all say, Obi Won?

[SelbyCobra]

Holy sh*t, check out this article from 2 years ago. As if we needed another anecdote about this kid to love - he dunked all over Kanter in a pickup game before he played in college. Apparently there was a video out there, but it's since been deleted and I couldn't immediately find it on a quick look around the internet.

Read on Twitter

?lang=en

https://theathletic.com/474437/2018/08/16/the-new-york-kid-and-dayton-flyer-who-got-a-shot-to-ball-with-and-dunk-on-nba-stars/

The opportunity came out of nowhere. Obi Toppin, a New York kid and college basketball neophyte, was out at Rucker Park last week watching his brother play when a friend asked him if he was interested in one of the NBA’s most high-profile open runs. A mutual friend told him that Chris Brickley’s Black Ops games needed another player.

That’s how an unheralded forward from Dayton ended up sharing a court with Carmelo Anthony, CJ McCollum and Enes Kanter, then dunking on them. In a day, Toppin went from a redshirt freshman who had yet to play a college game to the 6-foot-8 leaper throwing down a windmill on an alley-oop and jumping over Kanter.

When Toppin arrived to the tiny midtown Manhattan building that house Brickley’s runs, he couldn’t get past the lobby. He needed to show ID and get someone to vouch for him to be let inside. The games, organized by the basketball trainer, have become a summer staple for All-Stars and verified NBA vets. Anthony is a regular. LeBron James and Kevin Durant have played. J.R. Smith has spent the summer working with Brickley. So have Kanter and McCollum.

They were there when Toppin arrived. So was Cleanthony Early, a former second-round pick, and Shamorie Ponds, the St. John’s guard and reigning Big East conference scoring leader.

Still, Toppin says he felt at ease. He didn’t lack in confidence, either. He dunked over Kanter, flying in for a big putback, leaving the Knicks center asking him why he had dunked on him after a morning mostly playing together. Toppin’s response was sheepish: “I’m sorry,” he said, not really sorry.

He had arrived confident and prepared but there were moments that left an impression. He grew up a Knicks fan and avowed Anthony idolizer in Ossining, N.Y. Toppin had studied Anthony’s game as a teenager, only to find himself being taught by the star on the court, one 6-8 forward opposite another.

Now, Toppin was guarding him, getting instructions during plays from the 10-time All-Star on how to defend an NBA player, how to keep a hand in the pocket to try to slow them down and how quick to react when they’re ready to put the ball on the floor.

Toppin will play his first game for Dayton this season, but Smith and Anthony and the other NBA players there lingered afterward dispelling improvement tips and advice on how to join them in the league. He may play with them one more time, he says, but that one run has already proven beneficial.

[Fat Kat]

Read on Twitter

[thebuzzardman]

So, like Spring Training in baseball, hope springs eternal. Get ready for one of thebuzzardman's rare positive posts of the year.

Obi has played PG in his bball career and had a late growth spurt. That's a good sign in terms of him having good all around skills.

As covered, he's a native NY'er\raised in the metro area as a hoops junkie, so he's one of our own.

And we shouldn't forget that coach MAX PAYNE has a very strong reputation as a driven, taskmaster coach who is very good at working with young bigs. And yeah, I get that other teams have guys too. But that kind of coach, along with Toppin, who seems to have a serious work ethic and love of the game, make me think he'll develop nicely.

RJ's attitude and work ethic make me feel the same way. Whatever ability he has, and it's possible like Toppin there is a certain ceiling to it that isn't "ALL NBA", they will both maximize what they have.

[thebuzzardman]

Doesn't he seem more like Aaron Gordan with a somewhat better jumper?

19\8 with 3 assists per, takes 4-5 3's a game?

I gave him a slight bump on ppg since I think he's a better shooter out of the gate

Also, it's probably going to take him a season or two to hit that stat line

[thebuzzardman]

RJ seems like he'll be a legit #2 option with kind of mindset where he plays in whatever team concept is going on, do all the little things, be a pretty good scorer

Toppin, based on modern NBA, seems to profile as a #3 on a good team.

Mitch is your rim runner\defense 5th option

4th options are easy to find

Knicks as usual are waiting on that #1 option. But still have their cap space managed and all their picks and some extra.
Need to luck out with a PG or high level creative wing in next year's draft.

[NotDikembeSayNo]

Read on Twitter

?s=20

Hey at least he's excited. I would be too if I became a millionaire overnight.

[Fury]

Holy sh*t, check out this article from 2 years ago. As if we needed another anecdote about this kid to love - he dunked all over Kanter in a pickup game before he played in college. Apparently there was a video out there, but it's since been deleted and I couldn't immediately find it on a quick look around the internet.

Read on Twitter

?lang=en

https://theathletic.com/474437/2018/08/16/the-new-york-kid-and-dayton-flyer-who-got-a-shot-to-ball-with-and-dunk-on-nba-stars/

The opportunity came out of nowhere. Obi Toppin, a New York kid and college basketball neophyte, was out at Rucker Park last week watching his brother play when a friend asked him if he was interested in one of the NBA’s most high-profile open runs. A mutual friend told him that Chris Brickley’s Black Ops games needed another player.

That’s how an unheralded forward from Dayton ended up sharing a court with Carmelo Anthony, CJ McCollum and Enes Kanter, then dunking on them. In a day, Toppin went from a redshirt freshman who had yet to play a college game to the 6-foot-8 leaper throwing down a windmill on an alley-oop and jumping over Kanter.

When Toppin arrived to the tiny midtown Manhattan building that house Brickley’s runs, he couldn’t get past the lobby. He needed to show ID and get someone to vouch for him to be let inside. The games, organized by the basketball trainer, have become a summer staple for All-Stars and verified NBA vets. Anthony is a regular. LeBron James and Kevin Durant have played. J.R. Smith has spent the summer working with Brickley. So have Kanter and McCollum.

They were there when Toppin arrived. So was Cleanthony Early, a former second-round pick, and Shamorie Ponds, the St. John’s guard and reigning Big East conference scoring leader.

Still, Toppin says he felt at ease. He didn’t lack in confidence, either. He dunked over Kanter, flying in for a big putback, leaving the Knicks center asking him why he had dunked on him after a morning mostly playing together. Toppin’s response was sheepish: “I’m sorry,” he said, not really sorry.

He had arrived confident and prepared but there were moments that left an impression. He grew up a Knicks fan and avowed Anthony idolizer in Ossining, N.Y. Toppin had studied Anthony’s game as a teenager, only to find himself being taught by the star on the court, one 6-8 forward opposite another.

Now, Toppin was guarding him, getting instructions during plays from the 10-time All-Star on how to defend an NBA player, how to keep a hand in the pocket to try to slow them down and how quick to react when they’re ready to put the ball on the floor.

Toppin will play his first game for Dayton this season, but Smith and Anthony and the other NBA players there lingered afterward dispelling improvement tips and advice on how to join them in the league. He may play with them one more time, he says, but that one run has already proven beneficial.

[NotDikembeSayNo]

Read on Twitter

?s=20

This kid is just dying to be Amare.

[Blue Ninja]

Read on Twitter

OBI 1

[rajajackal]

Read on Twitter

?s=20

This kid is just dying to be Amare.

his media so far suggest he's trying to pivot away from that natural comparison. keep hearing him say "he hears amare stoudemire, but has been watching anthony davis"

the OB1 nickname was probably the M.O. there

[jvsimonetti0514]

Read on Twitter

knicks wall has already made shirts and they're sick

[stuporman]

OB1 > ME7O

[Triple C]

Read on Twitter

Tiny table the return

[Ray Williams]

Read on Twitter

?s=20

This kid is just dying to be Amare.

Amare couldn’t pass the ball like this kid. He’s going to be a better version.

[stuporman]

Amar'e had no post game, he was an inside scorer but had little to no actual post moves. Amar'e had no jumper so if he wasn't scoring inside he wasn't scoring and he also couldn't pass. Obi has some post moves, he can shoot and he passes the ball pretty good so the comparison is off.

I don't see much similarity in game between Amar'e and Obi on the offensive side of the court. The similarity is on the defensive end except Amar'e was completely clueless and had terrible defensive awareness which Obi has at least some ability and awareness so I hope could be coached to be better.

Obi isn't the guy I was looking for but I'm going to be supportive and be honest about what I see from him. His game isn't all that much like Amar'e.

[SmoothLefty21]

What I'm saying is bigs that score but can't play defense aren't really that valuable at high-level NBA basketball.

This is why I don't like the pick and why so many teams passed on Toppin for relatively underwhelming prospects. If Toppin hits, he's a bad problem to have if you're a team with championship aspirations. Sure, Obi will be an electric scorer with plenty of highlight-reel plays. He'll probably post some gaudy numbers in a year or two and will sneak in some All-Star appearances in his career. At #8, that's a pretty enticing outlook going in (especially compared to someone like Knox or Frank), but when you draft a player of his makeup you're putting a ceiling on your future. If your goal as a fan is to have the Knicks be relevant again and be fun to watch and maybe win a first-round series then Toppin is someone you'll like. If you want this franchise to win a championship and to continually show that they're in tune with how modern NBA basketball is played and won then Toppin is a frustrating selection. To call a spade a spade, Toppin's ceiling is a fantastic bench scorer on a championship-level team.

Anyone who has paid attention to how postseason basketball has evolved in the last few years knows that players similar to Toppin can be borderline unplayable against good teams. I can tell you right now that nearly every team will go small against us in the 4th quarter and either A) Mitch will be on the bench and Toppin will be at the 5 and we will have zero rim protection and get annihilated defensively. B) Toppin is unplayable down the stretch and Mitch is the guy on the floor with a smallball four who's a versatile defender. The Melo-Amare-Tyson comparison is valid enough.

[dakomish23]

Not even 25 pages. Crazy

[YouthMovement]

Read on Twitter

obi playing no d?

[cgf]

What I'm saying is bigs that score but can't play defense aren't really that valuable at high-level NBA basketball.

This is why I don't like the pick and why so many teams passed on Toppin for relatively underwhelming prospects. If Toppin hits, he's a bad problem to have if you're a team with championship aspirations. Sure, Obi will be an electric scorer with plenty of highlight-reel plays. He'll probably post some gaudy numbers in a year or two and will sneak in some All-Star appearances in his career. At #8, that's a pretty enticing outlook going in (especially compared to someone like Knox or Frank), but when you draft a player of his makeup you're putting a ceiling on your future. If your goal as a fan is to have the Knicks be relevant again and be fun to watch and maybe win a first-round series then Toppin is someone you'll like. If you want this franchise to win a championship and to continually show that they're in tune with how modern NBA basketball is played and won then Toppin is a frustrating selection. To call a spade a spade, Toppin's ceiling is a fantastic bench scorer on a championship-level team.

Anyone who has paid attention to how postseason basketball has evolved in the last few years knows that players similar to Toppin can be borderline unplayable against good teams. I can tell you right now that nearly every team will go small against us in the 4th quarter and either A) Mitch will be on the bench and Toppin will be at the 5 and we will have zero rim protection and get annihilated defensively. B) Toppin is unplayable down the stretch and Mitch is the guy on the floor with a smallball four who's a versatile defender. The Melo-Amare-Tyson comparison is valid enough.

This assumes the worst case scenario for Tobbin's defensive development. Obi doesn't need to become Horford 2.0 defensively to stay on the court depending on how his scoring, playmaking & shooting translate. And if Mitch never learns to shoot well enough to stay on the court late in games, he's getting replaced whether we drafted Tobbin or not

Can't get too transfixed with the current fit when you're this early in a rebuild. For all we know RJ, Mitch & Obi will all be traded for other kids that fit around our 2021 pick better.