Obi Toppin¶

Stats¶

Noteworthy

Caution

Strengths

Explosive verticality: Only a handful of NCAA players have had over 100 dunks in a season. He can really jump out of the gym.
Playmaking: Very underrated part of his game. Passing reminds me a bit of a David Lee or Blake Griffin “lite”.
Shooting: I don’t think I’m quite as convinced on his shooting ability as many are, given a relatively small sample and just average FT%, but clearly there is good reason for optimism. Passes the eye test as a spot-up shooter.

Weaknesses

Lateral movement/Perimeter Defense: One of the rare players where it’s immediately obvious he will have issues defending on the perimeter. Very stiff and also for someone who seems very smart on offense, lacks some awareness on the other end.
Rim protection: As explosive as he is on offense, he doesn’t really use his length and verticality as well as a rim protector.
Trap archetype?: Given the previous two items, one can’t help but think we’ve seen this movie before with players like David Lee, Blake Griffin, John Collins, and even Larry Nance. Gifted offensively but very problematic on defense seemingly has made it difficult to build around players in this mould.
Age: On top of the archetype questions, it should be noted Toppin will be 23 before his first rookie season is over.

Realistic ceiling for Obi Toppin?
— Aleksej Rhymes with Sergei (@thecity2) July 19, 2020