The New York Knicks got a legitimately rock-solid rookie when they drafted Brooklyn native Obi Toppin in this year's NBA draft. He might be super raw as a player, with plenty of edges to smooth out, however, then on occasion, he reminds Knicks fans why he was taken 8th overall:
Obi Toppin SLAMS the putback down 😳 pic.twitter.com/veDsJDrd1B
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 3, 2021
If you weren't aware, Obi just shut the lights out over the two best players on the Dallas Mavericks. Granted, neither are known for their defensive chops, but to have the sheer gumption as a rookie to yam a putback dunk in the faces of two of the NBA's best, Toppin showed he's a stone-cold killer.
It's plays like these that get Knicks fans falling asleep with visions of an air force squadron in their frontcourt. Between Toppin (should he develop) and fellow human kangaroo Mitchell Robinson, playmakers RJ Barrett and Julius Randle can bring about a Lob City renaissance out east that hasn't been seen since the days of Allan Houston.
These efforts come with winning basketball under the flash to. The Knicks (24-24) are sniffing at a playoff spot for the first time in a long while, and they have proven that they are tough enough to hang with any team in the league. However, more than that, the team's roster is apparently buying in. Knicks owner James Dolan is still the man in charge, sure, but with players like Toppin, Randle, Barrett, and Frank Ntilikina willing to go all out for the team, no one will want to play this Knicks team in the playoffs' first round.
Not unless they want to get put on multiple posters.
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