Photo Credit: The Knicks Wall

Obi Toppin Already Set A Knicks Franchise Record Before His First NBA Game

The New York Knicks used their No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft to select Obi Toppin, a 22-year old athletic forward from the Dayton Flyers who was named the 2020 National College Player of the Year.

The Knicks have had a long history of being unlucky with the NBA Draft lottery and fumbling up their picks in the NBA Draft. But it seems like Leon Rose and the Knicks finally got their guy at the eight overall pick this year, giving them another solid piece to their exciting young core.

Just the other day, new Knicks acquisition, Austin Rivers said that Obi Toppin ‘is beyond a freak athlete,’ and that ‘he’s going to be really good’.

Now, the rookie-to-be has already set a Knicks franchise record, and that’s before the season even tips off.

According to The New York Post, Toppin recorded the highest score in the conditioning test in team history.

“I feel like the moment I stepped into this facility, [assistant coach] Kenny Payne’s been preparing me for the games coming up,’’ Toppin said on a Zoom call Thursday. “I feel like me being who I am, me wanting to grind, me wanting to always win, I just feel like I always put in the work to. When conditioning time comes up, it’s like I’m automatically ready for it.

When I go out there, I try my best to have the highest score. I always ask what the highest score is so I can beat it. We had a conditioning test, and I asked what the highest score was, and I had to beat it. I believe I’m the highest person in the conditioning test.”