Toppin is a hard worker on offense and plays with a ton of heart. His aggressiveness and authority at the rim pop on film, and he has continuously exceeded expectations throughout his career to this point. Toppin might not be the average 22-year-old though. He’s very capable of knocking down the three too, but crucially hasn’t fallen in love with the jumpshot like so many bigs do.

He received offers from a handful of programs and committed to Dayton before having to redshirt his true freshman season as he was academically ineligible to play. He wasn’t recruited and had to play a year at prep school to get offers. After all, with youth comes upside potential, or so the theory goes. The Flyers were poised for a deep NCAA tournament run. He especially struggled with help defense. "He has great touch with both hands, and his shooting looks like it could be replicated over and over," one NBA executive told Wasserman. for Kids card of Obi Toppin. According to Wasserman, the Minnesota Timberwolves, who own the No. 2 given the wide range of possibilities: taking Toppin for his NBA readiness, making a trade or filling a need with either Wiseman at center or one of the top-tier wings," Wasserman writes. Shooting: 9.

Leadership: 9. His all-around offensive game gives him a high floor in a draft full of hit-or-miss guys. In his redshirt sophomore season, Toppin broke through massively as he was the consensus NCAA player of the year and won several awards as he led Dayton to a 29-2 record in what was pacing to be the team’s best season of all time.

He has incredible leaping ability and his age (22) could be seen as a plus for a Warriors team that might not want to gamble on the immaturity of 18- and 19-year-olds. Those skills would mesh well with a Warriors team that needs to add some more role player shooting and versatility.

Indeed a 1-2 punch at center of Toppin and Looney is a pretty nice mix of complementary skills for the modern NBA alongside Green as he ages. That means everyone, from selectors, to coaches, to writers, to fans, had Toppin as the best player in college this season. Toppin then enrolled at Mt. That shines through in his numbers. He doesn’t force his shots, and he would fit in well with most established offenses in the NBA, but he needs to work on translating his strong basketball IQ to the defensive end of the floor. The 6-foot-9, 220lb forward won the Naismith College Player of the Year, John Wooden Award, Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year, Oscar Robertson Award, and National Association of Basketball Coaches award. The floor may be high, but it’s not like the potential ceiling isn’t as well. He led the NCAA in dunks last season, many of which came on putbacks, heads-up plays that highlighted his anticipation and awareness. A trade down remains a very realistic possibility. The Warriors will have a number of options in front of them when they go on the clock at No. So let’s talk about the bad. Rebounding: 8. Download and subscribe to the Runnin' Plays Podcast. But perhaps the first feeling was the correct one.

Player Card Info Name: Obi Toppin Measurables: 6’9″, 220 lbs College/International Team: Dayton Flyers Stats last season: 12 games played, 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.6 steals per game; 6.3/16.7 FGs (37.5%), 1.7/6.7 3Ps (25.0%), 2.8/3.9 3Ps (72.3%) — stats not updated for Toppin. Warriors, Toppin could be wild-card NBA draft pairing, Six guards Warriors could target in second round of NBA draft.

He is also potent in the transition offense as he flies down the court and can finish the fast-break attack with an explosive bucket at the rim. As a long time Warriors observer, I developed a keen interest in team building, organisational culture, and salary cap management. Generally speaking inefficiency and poor decision-making are habits that are difficult to break out of. This season, his sophomore year, he exploded onto the scene. Toppin may be the best player in this draft class now, but will he be in three years, or five years? He’s also very smart with when to attempt the 3-pointer as he doesn’t force his own offense.

Everything is on the table for Golden State. The Golden State Warriors face a potentially franchise-altering decision after they won the second overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

Toppin will take time to mature on this end. Toppin’s statistical profile in college mirrors another hyper-athletic forward who swept the board in college and has gone on to make six All-Star teams and has five All-NBA selections to his name - Blake Griffin. Athleticism: 8.

Toppin provides the type of long-range shooting and out-of-position playmaking that the Warriors’ front office guys will fawn over, and his defensive limitations would be masked playing next to Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

While that lineup would be at a disadvantage height-wise against the likes of Anthony Davis or Nikola Jokic, it's a unit that could have incredible offensive potential. After a tremendous sophomore season leading the Dayton Flyers to a 29-2 record, Obi Toppin swept the board across the NCAA awards. He only played one season of varsity basketball as a senior at Ossining High School in New York. The dream scenario would be packaging their draft selection for a bona fide superstar, but they will likely have to wait a bit for that. Before joining Forbes in the summer of 2018 I wrote about the Warriors and the salary cap for the SB Nation blog Golden State of Mind. He can get plenty of buckets of the more challenging variety as well, as his 39% 3-point shooting from last season attests.

Alternatively, if the Warriors decide they need help now, they could look to trade it for veteran help. It’s not hard to imagine that inserting Toppin’s tantalizing skillset into Golden State’s dynamic offensive system alongside the shooting of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green’s playmaking, could lead the Warriors back to one of the best offensive ratings in league history. Toppin isn’t the strongest player in the class, and he lacks the pure explosiveness to be a constant issue with defensive rebounding.

Despite the reputation of the 2020 draft class, there may well be such a player in Dayton’s athletic forward Obi Toppin. Toppin’s not just individually dominant either. Shipping and handling.

James Wiseman has rapidly emerged as the consensus high-potential, swing-for-the-fences pick. He is still relatively new to the game, though, and should continue to develop the finer points of his game in the NBA.

Toppin has some physical limitations. "The Golden State Warriors are a wild card at No.

Maybe the risk-reward ratio of a young prospect like Wiseman or Edwards (if he’s available) is just too great to pass up with the second pick. Then last season, after a solid redshirt freshman year, he entered the draft but withdrew after finding his stock was second-rounder at best. Dive into the tape and it’s not hard to see why he’s so dominant. In my professional career I have worked in a variety of roles developing public policy, researching innovation and organisational transformation, and reforming complex systems. Most 22-year-old prospects are relatively close to their ceiling as professional players.

He also had several mental lapses on the defensive end last season and struggled to maintain his positioning when defending off-ball. Hustle: 7.

Under the current management, only Kevon Looney was a one-and-done, and he took three years to start producing. The truth is that the Warriors have rather liked their draft picks with a bit of seasoning. Toppin isn’t a guy you’re going to feel comfortable switching onto any high-end guards in pick-and-roll defense. Expected to be the #1 NBA Draft Pick in upcoming 2020 Draft. Any team that takes Toppin will have to put the work in improving his defense.