Getty Obi Toppin #1 of the New York Knicks goes up for a dunk but misses in the second half against the Denver Nuggets.
The New York Knicks are undefeated in the preseason, which doesn’t really mean a whole lot, but they are putting on a show for the fans.
In the victory over the Indiana Pacers, high-flying forward Obi Toppin threw down a dunk contest-level dunk, and the Madison Square Garden crowd went wild after the fact.
Fans and players alike were excited to see the play unfold, and Immanuel Quickley even called it his favorite play at the Garden.
“My favorite Garden moment is when [Obi Toppin] went in between the legs against the Pacers last night,” he said.
As it turns out, players from around the NBA also caught wind of the play. Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball sent his praise from afar by tweeting at Toppin after seeing the dunk.
Ball Sends a Message
After seeing the dunk, Ball sent a simple message to Toppin.
“Yea u nasty gang,” he said while tagging the Knicks forward on Twitter.
Dunks like this are nothing new from Toppin, but you usually don’t see these types of plays pulled off in a real game, however, since this is the preseason and Toppin had a breakaway dunk, he figured the timing was good.
It’s plays like this that have Knicks fans begging the team to play Toppin more. However, the problem is that he plays the same position as Julius Randle, and he’ll be getting the lion’s share of the minutes.
The preseason is a good chance for Toppin to show he’s worthy of getting more playing time, even if it means it comes to him playing as a small-ball center. Pulling off dunks like this will certainly go a long way into proving he can do that, but it’ll all come down to coach Tom Thibodeau.
Toppin is Looking Solid
The preseason might not be the best measuring stick for teams to judge their guys off, but Toppin has shined nonetheless. There aren’t many flaws to look at for the Knicks at the moment as they’ve looked dominant, but Toppin is still a bright spot.
Thibodeau is well aware of the impact the forward has had, and he showered praise on him.
“He brings life and everything… Defensively, he’s working hard at it,” he said. “There’s still a ways to go but he’s made great strides. I think he and [Quickley] have great chemistry together and I think that’s a big plus so there’s a lot of positives.”
Quickley and Toppin have always had good chemistry with each other, and with the two of them leading the bench crew, they have a chance to build that even more in the season to come. One big boost they’ll be getting is the return of Derrick Rose to help run the show.
The former MVP is fully healthy going into the season, and he’ll bring a sense of steadiness to the second unit that has been missing. Rose, Toppin, and Quickley have the makings of a strong bench, and when that’s joined by Isaiah Hartenstein at the center position, it’s a good-looking team there.