3 Top performers from Indiana Pacers’ blowout win over San Antonio Spurs

2. Obi Toppin

This was nice to see.

Recently, I gave Obi Toppin a grade of “C” for his Pacers stint so far, with this mostly being attributed to the fact that he did not have a true breakout game at the time of writing. It’s pretty safe to say that this has changed, and I am very happy it has.

With his best scoring game in a Pacers uniform before Monday being a mere 11 points, Toppin was on a mission to prove his worth, and it’s safe to say he proved more than his fair share. He was one of the other three players to score over 15 points on the night.

Toppin certainly had a night to remember, putting up 19 points on 6/11 shooting while also getting two steals, a very good thing to see given his defensive shortcomings so far in his NBA career.

Of course, it can’t be an Obi Toppin standout game without a highlight player, and he delivered in full, getting a steal and converting a thunderous one-handed tomahawk jam to extend the Indiana Pacers’ lead and get the crowd even more excited.

I have said this before about Obi Toppin, and I will say it again: I believe he has the tools to be a long-term starter on the Pacers team, but before this game, he was not exactly giving fans a reason to pencil him in as a guaranteed centerpiece for the team to keep going forward.

In only his seventh game as an Indiana Pacer, Toppin has found himself one step closer to proving himself in the eyes of Indiana Pacers fans with a fantastic performance on a special night this early into the 2023-24 season.

Here’s for more standout Obi Toppin games and more fantastic dunks just like the one tonight.