GREENBURGH, N.Y. — When the Knicks selected Obi Toppin with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft there were more than a few predictions of immediate impact, entering the league at 22 years old as the reigning NCAA Player of the Year.
His path to the NBA put him on a roster that included six players younger than him — including one, Frank Ntilikina, in his fourth NBA season. But with COVID-19 taking away the opportunity for summer league or fall practices, he found himself often at the end of the bench for the first half of the season, opportunities often ending quickly when a mistake would have him swiveling his head to the bench where he would see Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau signaling what he already knew, that his abbreviated appearance on the floor was over.