Future Watch: Obi Toppin Basketball Cards, New York Knicks – Obi Toppin was one of the few players in the 2020 NBA Draft with more questions concerning his ceiling than his floor. The consensus National Player of the Year, Toppin was robbed of a chance on the big stage in March to show that he could transcend his status as a player who dominated mid-major competition at Dayton by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Imagine such a player emerging a mere two years after actually redshirting at said mid-major. After that, the lightly-recruited Toppin came from nowhere to become the first freshman to make the first team All-Atlantic 10 and to win the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year since Lamar Odom exactly 20 years prior.
Between Toppin’s post-high school year in prep ball at Mt. Zion and his emergence in college, he grew four inches to his present frame of 6’9”. It is for this reason that he excels as a stretch four, having built a game that existed well before his growth spurt. His shooting, primarily from outside, is beyond reproach, even though his free throw rate is below where it should be for a gunner of his skill level. As a player who will have to be something of a forward tweener, so long as Julius Randle and RJ Barrett both remain on the Knicks roster, Toppin needs to refine his post moves for his minutes at power forward and will have to translate his athleticism into better on-ball defense for his minutes at small forward.
Having missed several games due to a calf injury, Toppin’s minutes per game have been few as he worked his way back, but they have been impactful on occasion – none more so than his 12 points and five assists in only 17 minutes against Boston:
Obi Toppin rookie cards can be found in early products this year, including his first NBA-uniformed cards in 2020-21 Panini Hoops.
Future Watch: Obi Toppin Basketball Cards, New York Knicks – Stats
| Season | Age | Tm | Lg | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 22 | NYK | NBA | PF | 15 | 0 | 11.7 | 1.8 | 4.1 | .435 | 0.5 | 1.9 | .276 | 1.3 | 2.2 | .576 | .500 | 0.5 | 0.6 | .778 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 4.6 |
| Career | NBA | 15 | 0 | 11.7 | 1.8 | 4.1 | .435 | 0.5 | 1.9 | .276 | 1.3 | 2.2 | .576 | .500 | 0.5 | 0.6 | .778 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 4.6 |
Future Watch: Obi Toppin Basketball Cards, New York Knicks – Other Resources
- Obi Toppin NBA.com Player Profile
- Obi Toppin – Secondary Market Pricing
- Beckett Card Catalog – Obi Toppin Basketball Cards
Future Watch: Obi Toppin Basketball Cards, New York Knicks – Image Gallery
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