Toppin’s athleticism is impressing teammates
NEW YORK — In the first days of Knicks training camp, one of the early tasks was a conditioning drill, and when it was Obi Toppin’s turn, the rookie asked the trainers what the record was for the test. He marked that as a goal — and his first achievement in the NBA.
“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 when conditioning time comes up, it’s like I’m automatically ready for it,” Toppin said in a Zoom call Thursday. “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.”
Although Knicks sources said they don’t keep an official list and that this was based on the trainer’s recollections, the agreement was that the record was real and that Toppin was given a time to beat — and shattered it.
Given what his new teammates have seen, maybe that’s not surprising. The Brooklyn native has begun to take his high- flying act around the Madison Square Garden Training Center.
“He’s a freak athlete, man,” said Kevin Knox, who spent a month working out with Toppin in South Jersey before the draft. “He comes in the gym 8 in the morning and his first shot is a between- the- legs dunk. It was just crazy his athleticism is where it’s at now. It’s only going to continue to get better.”
“Obi Toppin is beyond a freak athlete,” Austin Rivers said. “He’s going to be really good. I know I obviously didn’t get to play against him last year, but just seeing him in here, my God.”
When the Knicks took him with the No. 8 overall pick, there was little doubt about the 22- year- old’s athleticism. But he understands that to earn minutes under coach Tom Thibodeau, there still is plenty of work to do, particularly on the defensive end.
“Coach Thibs, he’s known for his defense,” Toppin said. “I feel like with my athletic ability, my speed, the way I move my body, I understand my body and I understand the things I need to do to get better and to take my game to another level.
“So I’m locked in, I’m at another level, I’m not in college anymore, and I’m locked into what I have to do to be great. With the coaching staff and players we have, they’re going to push me as well as I’m going to push them to do everything we can to be successful.”