The New York Knicks got a special player in Obi Toppin
The night of the 2020 NBA Draft turned out to be quite an exciting one for New York Knicks fans as they appear to have gotten the biggest steal of the draft. Dayton forward and John Wooden Award winner Obi Toppin somehow unexpectedly fell to the No. 8 spot in the draft as the Knicks were ecstatic to be able to select a player of his caliber.
To put the icing on the cake, Toppin is a Brooklyn native and will have the opportunity to play in front of hometown fans. Toppin played two seasons at Dayton and what he was able to accomplish during his sophomore season was truly amazing especially considering the fact that he played for a mid-major.
If March Madness had taken place as scheduled, we might have seen Toppin go No. 1 overall in this draft. Dayton was primed to make a run at a national championship with Toppin as the catalyst and the opportunity to show NBA scouts what he could do under the bright lights on a national stage.
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Toppin averaged 17.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game on an extraordinary 65 percent shooting from the field. It’s hard to believe how the teams who selected before the Knicks passed up on Toppin and the Knicks were happy that they didn’t have to trade up in order to get him.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau and general manager Leon Rose hit a home run with this pick as Knicks fans probably let out collective sighs of relief due to the organization having a history of disappointing the fan base on draft nights of the past.
The Knicks past few lottery picks were good foundational players who should form a good rapport with Toppin and bring the franchise back to relevancy. Frank Ntilikina, Kevin Knox, and RJ Barrett, all former lottery picks will be expected to make progress and play vital roles this upcoming season.
Toppin fits any need the Knicks need him to fill as they can place him anywhere due to his versatility as he will make his teammates jobs easier. He is an unselfish, team-first player who displays a will to win as the Knicks hope he will be a savior and bring the team out of mediocrity.
Toppin’s game has been compared to Amar’e Stoudemire and a little bit of Kyle Kuzma. It will be interesting to see how quickly Toppin adjusts to the NBA game and just how far he can take the Knicks during his rookie season.
Hopefully, Toppin will have Madison Square Garden rocking the way it used to back in the 1990s when Patrick Ewing and John Starks were in their prime as Toppin could possibly become the Knicks’ next star player.