Personal Information
Full Name | Obi Toppin |
Position | Power Forward |
DOB (Age) | 04-03-1998 (26 yrs) |
Height | 6 ft 10 in (2.06 m) |
Weight | 220 lbs (100 kgs) |
Hometown | Brooklyn, NY |
College | University of Dayton |
Draft | 2020 - Rd: 1, Pick: 8 (IND) |
Debut | 2020 |
Obi Toppin: A Brief Biography
Obadiah Richard "Obi" Toppin Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the NBA. He played college basketball for the Dayton Flyers. Listed at 6 feet 9 inches he plays the power forward position. Toppin was born in Brooklyn New York City, he played for Ossining high school, he completed his senior season with 20.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals per game. During his only year playing varsity at Ossining and Obi led the team to its first conference title in 10 years. He did not receive any division 1 offers so he decided to join Mt Zion preparatory school for a postgraduate year he averaged 17 points, eight rebounds, and four assists and also grew four inches to 6 feet 9 inches. He got offers from Georgia, Texas tech, Georgetown but decided to go to the University of Dayton.
He redshirted his freshman season being academically ineligible to play but averaged 14.4 points per game while averaging 5.6 rebounds per game.
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 in 1999. He declared for the 2019 draft but did not get an agent. After working out for many teams he decided to skip the draft and return to Dayton for his sophomore season. He had a spectacular 2nd season at Dayton. 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 after averaging 20 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game with a .633 field goal percentage. Toppin was a consensus first-team All-American selection, won the Karl Malone Award 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, NABC Player of the Year, Naismith College Player of the Year, and awarded the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the John R. Wooden Award. He also garnered national player of the year honors from CBS Sports, The Athletic, NBC Sports, and USA Today. Following the end of his season, he declared for the 2020 NBA draft and was selected 8th overall by the New York Knicks.