Obadiah Richard Toppin Jr. (born March 4, 1998) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). A

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

, he played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Dayton Flyers The Dayton Flyers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Dayton of Dayton, Ohio. All Flyers intercollegiate sports teams participate at the NCAA Division I level. The football team competes in the Division I FCS non-schola ...

. A native of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Toppin was born in the borough of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and graduated from

Ossining High School Ossining High School (OHS) is a comprehensive public high school located in Ossining, New York, United States, along the Hudson River in northern Westchester County, New York. Serving grades 9 through 12, it is the sole high school within the ...

in New York. After receiving no

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

offers, he played a

postgraduate season A postgraduate (PG) year is an extra year of secondary coursework at a boarding school following high school graduation, but before entering college. It is a gap year option intended for students who either have not applied or were not admitted ...

at Mt. Zion Preparatory School in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. As a freshman with the

, Toppin was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year after leading his team in scoring. He had breakout success in his sophomore season, earning Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and National College Player of the Year honors. After his sophomore college season, Toppin declared for the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

where he was selected with the eighth overall pick by the New York Knicks. Toppin was the winner of the 2022 NBA Slam Dunk Contest after being runner-up in the year prior.

Early life and high school career

Toppin was born in

in New York City and originally grew up in the neighborhood of

Bushwick Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Par ...

before moving to

Melbourne, Florida Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando. As of th2020 Decennial Census there was a population of 84,678. The municipality is the second-largest in the county by both size and population. ...

. He attended Heritage High School in Palm Bay as a freshman before transferring to

Melbourne Central Catholic High School Melbourne Central Catholic (MCC) is an American private, Roman Catholic, coed college-preparatory school high school located in Melbourne, in Brevard County, Florida. It was a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 1991. Campus 44 acre campus include ...

the next year. Toppin, his mother and younger brother relocated to

Ossining, New York Ossining may refer to: * Ossining (town), New York, a town in Westchester County, New York state *Ossining (village), New York, a village in the town of Ossining * Ossining High School, a comprehensive public high school in Ossining village * Ossi ...

and he enrolled at

going into his junior year. He averaged 20.6 points, 8.1

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, 3 assists and 3 steals as a senior during his only year playing varsity at Ossining and led the team to its first conference title in 10 years. Having received no

offers, Toppin opted to enroll at Mt. Zion Preparatory School in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

for a

postgraduate year A postgraduate (PG) year is an extra year of secondary coursework at a boarding school following high school graduation, but before entering college. It is a gap year option intended for students who either have not applied or were not admitted ...

. He averaged 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists and also grew four inches to . He committed to play college basketball at the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

over offers from

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, Georgetown,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

College career

Toppin

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his true freshman season after being ruled academically ineligible to play. As a red-shirt freshman, Toppin led the Flyers with 14.4 points per game while averaging 5.6 rebounds per game and was named the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

Rookie of the Week seven times. At the end of the season, Toppin was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and to the first team All-Atlantic 10, the first freshman to do so since

Lamar Odom Lamar Joseph Odom (born November 6, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. As a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he won championships in 2009 and 2010 and was named the NBA Six ...

in 1999. Following the end of the season he declared for the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

, but did not hire an

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

. After working out for several NBA teams, Toppin opted to withdraw from the draft and return to Dayton. Obi Toppin

Entering his red-shirt sophomore season, Toppin was named to the preseason first team All-Atlantic 10 and to the

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spen ...

Lute Olson Robert Luther "Lute" Olson (September 22, 1934 – August 27, 2020) was an American basketball coach, who was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the head co ...

, and

Naismith Award Naismith Award is a basketball award named after James Naismith, and awarded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Naismith Awards include: * Naismith College Player of the Year (men's and women's; NCAA Division I basketball) * Naismith College Coach of the ...

watch lists. Toppin was also named the 44th-best collegiate basketball player going into the 2019–20 season by

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...

and the 24th-best prospect for the

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. He was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for the first week of the season after scoring a career-high 29 points with 12 rebounds in the Flyers' season opening 86–81 win over

Indiana State Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

. In late November 2019, Toppin led Dayton to second place at the 2019 Maui Invitational Tournament, averaging 22.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 blocks over three games. He subsequently repeated as Atlantic 10 Player of the Week and was recognized as National Player of the Week by

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

. On December 30, Toppin scored a career-high 31 points in a 77–59 win over

North Florida North Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes Jacksonville and near ...

, including a school-record 10 dunks. He was named to the midseason watchlist for the

Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

and was named the Midseason Player of the Year by

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports website that provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories from top professional and college sports ...

. Toppin sprained his left ankle during a win against UMass on January 11, 2020, but did not miss a game, scoring 24 points in Dayton's next game against VCU in spite of his injury. Toppin scored his 1,000th career point on February 22, 2020 during a 28-point performance in an 80–70 win over Duquesne. At the end of the regular season Toppin was named to the first team All-Atlantic 10 and the

Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Atlantic 10 Conference's (A–10) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the conference's inaugural 1976–77 season, when the c ...

after averaging 20 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game with a .633

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gener ...

. Toppin was a consensus first team All-American selection, won the

Karl Malone Award The Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate power forward. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarded s ...

as the nation's top power forward, and was the consensus National Player of the Year after being named the

Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year The Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year award was established in 1961 to recognize the best men's college basketball player of the year, as voted upon by the Associated Press (AP). The only three-time winner is Ralph Sampson of ...

NABC Player of the Year The NABC Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top player in men's college basketball. The award has been given since the 1974–75 season to National Collegiate Athl ...

Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. History an ...

, and awarded the

Oscar Robertson Trophy The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the outstanding men's college basketball player by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). The trophy is considered to be the oldest of its kind and has been given out since 195 ...

and the

John R. Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

. He also garnered national player of the year honors from

, The Athletic,

and

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

. After the season, Toppin announced that he would be forgoing his final two seasons of eligibility to enter the

. Toppin finished his college career with 1,096 points scored and a school-record 190 dunks.

Professional career

New York Knicks (2020–present)

On November 18, 2020, Toppin was selected with the eighth overall pick in the

by the

. On November 23, Toppin signed a rookie scale contract with the Knicks. On December 23, Toppin made his NBA debut, putting up nine points, three rebounds, and two blocks in 24 minutes, in a 121–107 loss to the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

. Toppin missed 10 games due to injury sustained in his NBA debut, and returned on January 13, 2021 in a 116–109 loss to the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...

. He was invited to participate in the 2021 NBA Dunk Contest and finished in 2nd place. Toppin was the winner of the 2022 NBA Slam Dunk Contest the following season. On April 8, 2022, Toppin recorded a then career-high 35 points in a 114–92 win over the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

. On April 10, Toppin recorded a career-high 42 points in a 105–94 win over the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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, 72 , , 10 , , 17.1 , , .531 , , .308 , , .758 , , 3.7 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .5 , , 9.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 134 , , 10 , , 14.3 , , .521 , , .307 , , .753 , , 3.0 , , .8 , , .3 , , .4 , , 6.7

Playoffs

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, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 0 , , 13.0 , , .522 , , .333 , , .833 , , 2.6 , , .4 , , .0 , , .2 , , 6.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 5 , , 0 , , 13.0 , , .522 , , .333 , , .833 , , 2.6 , , .4 , , .0 , , .2 , , 6.4

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

, 33 , , 15 , , 26.5 , , .666 , , .524 , , .713 , , 5.6 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , .8 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 31 , , 31.6 , , .633 , , .390 , , .702 , , 7.5 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , 20.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 64 , , 46 , , 29.0 , , .647 , , .417 , , .706 , , 6.6 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , 17.1

Personal life

Toppin's father, also named Obadiah, is of Barbadian descent and was a well-known

streetball Streetball (or street basketball) is a variation of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules. As such, its format is more conducive to allowing players ...

player in Brooklyn. He played basketball collegiately at

Globe Institute of Technology Globe Institute of Technology was a private for-profit college in New York City. It offered baccalaureate, associate, and certificate programs in business and information technology as well as a sports program. Globe Institute of Technology was ...

and professionally for the Brooklyn Kings of the

United States Basketball League The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

, the Harlem Strong Dogs of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

and in the Dominican Republic. His father was also known as "Dunker's Delight" while playing for a streetball team called the Court Kingz. His brother, Jacob, plays college basketball for

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

after transferring from

. Toppin is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and has a tattoo of a cross on his right shoulder as a sign of his faith.

References

External links

Dayton Flyers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toppin, Obi 1998 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from New York City Dayton Flyers men's basketball players New York Knicks draft picks New York Knicks players People from Bushwick, Brooklyn Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Brooklyn American people of Barbadian descent