Obi Toppin’s Resurgence: A Star Reborn in Indiana
Photo via @obitoppin_1 Instagram
Sports Editor | Gabriel Ward
For Obi Toppin, the 2025 NBA Playoffs weren’t just about this season; they were another step in a basketball journey that has been defined by the highest of highs, uncontrollable setbacks, and the use of a fresh start to find his role in the best basketball league in the world. His presence off the bench for the Indiana Pacers was a key role in their run through the postseason, and, despite it ending with a disappointing game 7 loss, Toppin reminded the NBA something that Flyers fans have always known: he’s a championship-level player.
Despite being named the national player of the year in his final season at Dayton and being drafted eighth overall by the New York Knicks, Toppin struggled to find his rhythm in New York. In the 2021-22 season, which was statistically his best with the Knicks, Toppin averaged 9 points, 1.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds off the bench; however, after those numbers dropped during his third season, Toppin was dealt to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for draft picks.
In Indiana, Toppin’s career would find new life. In his first season with the Pacers, he would appear in every game and record a then career-high 10.3 points per game in the regular season. Indiana would eventually fall to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Using that momentum, Toppin was able to double down on his importance to the Pacers during his second season in the Hoosier State, where he would help the Pacers to another playoff appearance.
This time around, Toppin and the Pacers mounted comeback after comeback en route to a second straight trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they would face the same franchise that traded Toppin just a few seasons ago: the New York Knicks.
In a back-and-forth series, it was the clinching game where Toppin rose to the occasion. While Toppin was a reliable role player throughout the entire series, he truly silenced his New York doubters in game 6, where, off the bench, he scored 18 points while grabbing six rebounds and blocking three shots.
With the win, Toppin and the Pacers advanced to their first NBA Finals since the 1990-2000 season. In much of the Finals, Toppin put on a show, scoring 17 points in games 1 and 4, 12 in game 5, and was one point short of his playoff career high, scoring 20 points in game 6.
Prior to game seven, Adesina O. Koiki of A Lot of Sports Talk asked Obi Toppin about the 2020 Dayton Flyers, whose postseason run was cut short before it even started due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Toppin responded, saying, “I feel like we would have won if we played,” and “to have this opportunity to play in a game seven with this amazing team and [I] wouldn’t want to do it with any other team, other than the 2020 Dayton Flyers.”
Ultimately, the Pacers would face a major setback early in game seven as Tyrese Haliburton would tear his Achilles with five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Before the injury, Haliburton had nine points on three 3-pointers.
Toppin would play 21 minutes in the game but would go scoreless, and the Oklahoma City Thunder won their first title under the Oklahoma City branding and second title in franchise history (1979 Seattle SuperSonics).
Despite the disappointing end to the season, Toppin’s journey came full circle. From his rise to stardom at University of DaytonArena to underperforming in New York to reviving his career with the Pacers, Toppin proved to everyone that he belonged under the bright lights. His playoff performance may not have ended with a ring, but it reignited a belief that is now shared between NBA and Dayton fans alike, a belief that his story is not finished.