The Knicks were thinking about trading up in the draft to No. 5 so they could get Obi Toppin. They didn't make that leap and were rewarded anyway, when Toppin fell to them at No. 8.
The 22-year-old Toppin, who starred for Dayton, joins a young core that features Mitchell Robinson and RJ Barrett.
And he gets to come home.
"I'm from New York, that's why it's important," Toppin said. "Me repping my city, it's amazing. A lot of people pray to be in this position. I’m not going to take it for granted."
Saying that his defense is one of the things he needs to work on, Toppin was excited to work with Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau.
“I learned a lot about coach through this pandemic and basically I understand he’s a defensive coach," Toppin said. "That’s one of my biggest things I need to work on. I feel like having him as my head coach, he’s going to make sure that I lock in and make sure that I become great one day. I feel like if I get that defensive scheme down I’m going to be a really good player one day, a really great player one day.”
As far as how he fits with the Knicks, Toppin was excited about playing with Barrett, whom the Knicks have firmly in their plans for the future despite an up-and-down rookie season.
“I feel like me and RJ are going to be a great duo," Toppin explained. "It’s going to be like me and Jalen all over again — Me and Jalen Crutcher, who I played at Dayton with. Me and RJ on the court together it’s going to be a lot of situations where we’re going to put people in tough situations like pick-and-roll coverages, knowing I can pick and pop, knowing I can roll to the basket. And RJ having an IQ and the skills he has I feel like we’re going to be a very dynamic duo in the NBA and we’re going to prove that this upcoming season."
As he hopes to become a key piece of the Knicks' emerging young core, Toppin -- who said New York has been "down a couple years," said he's ready to help "put New York back on the map for sure.”
Toppin also discussed his meteoric rise, overcome at times by emotion.
“Nothing’s come easy for me," he said. "I went through a lot of things growing up. I feel like through those struggles and through those bad times that I’ve been through growing up, it made me the person and player I am today. I learned from those experiences, on court and off court. And going through those experiences helped me become who I am today. I wouldn’t change that for anything.”