During the 2023 NBA offseason, the Indiana Pacers acquired power forward Obi Toppin from the New York Knicks. In exchange, the Pacers for two future second-round draft picks. At the time, Toppin was entering the final deal of his rookie contract.
The Knicks drafted Toppin with the No. 8 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. In his three seasons in New York, the Dayton alum averaged 7 points and 3 rebounds per game. Additionally, he shot 49.2% from the field and 32.5% from beyond the arc.
Indiana took a flyer on Toppin and acquired him in a low-risk, high-reward move. And in his first season with the Pacers, Toppin enjoyed the best season of his career.
During the 2023-24 season, Toppin appeared in all 82 regular season games and started 28 of them. In those games, he averaged 10.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. Furthermore, he shot 57.3% from the floor and 40.3% from the three-point. All these numbers, plus his 21.1 minutes per game, were career highs for the Brooklyn native.
Toppin continued to show out in the playoffs as he averaged 10.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game off the bench for the team's Eastern Conference Finals run. Toppin also continued to shoot efficiently, recording a 54.1 FG% and a 35.7 3FG%.
One year after the trade, the Pacers re-signed the 26-year-old to a four-year, $58 million contract. For just two second-round picks, the Pacers got a young forward with lots of upside who has already made his presence felt on the court.
Not every trade in the NBA must have a "winner" or a "loser." However, in hindsight, it is pretty clear the Pacers won this trade and have a lot to look forward to because of it.
Obi Toppin is looking forward to long-term Pacers stint
Following his new contract, Toppin spoke about having an "amazing" experience with the team and being "super happy that we came to an agreement."
"Indiana is amazing. Me going there, the experience that I had was amazing. I felt like the energy that I brought, everybody liked, the team liked," Toppin said of his free agency. "They wanted me to come back. I wanted to come back, too. So I was super happy that we came to an agreement."
"I just felt like the year that we had was amazing. Everybody was just so bonded. Tyrese , Myles , (and) Pascal did a great job keeping the team together. Everybody was just so glued together doing good things," Toppin said.
"We had to keep the team what it was. For me to come back, for Pascal to come back, everybody else is gonna come back. It's going be amazing."