Knicks rookie Obi Toppin will compete in Sunday night’s Slam Dunk Contest, but it won’t be his first – the 23-year-old also took part in one in Westchester County when he was a senior at Ossining High School in 2016.
“He took off from inside the foul line and flew like MJ to win the contest,” Ossining head coach Michael Casey told The New York Post earlier this week. “Most of the others struggled to complete their dunks. But, no, I didn’t think Obi would be in the NBA dunk contest after that.”
It should come as no surprise to anyone who knows him that Toppin topped all in that contest – after all, his father, Obadiah, was a streetball legend who earned the nickname “Dunkers Delight” on the courts at legendary NYC parks like Rucker and Dyckman, and took part in the AND1 Streetball Tour in the mid-2000s after a pro career in the USBL, ABA, and overseas.
“I grew up watching him,” Toppin said of Obadiah earlier this week. “Every team he played on, his name was Dunkers Delight, so that speaks for itself. I talked to him about some of the dunks, and he’s basically telling me which ones will look crazy for that time.”
Toppin, a fan of prop dunks, isn’t sure if he’ll be able to use teammate Julius Randle or his dad – who plans to be in Atlanta – as a prop, given the short amount of time he has to prepare after only arriving in Atlanta on Saturday night. His HS coach told the Post “he’ll have to get creative,” but Obi is ready to do just that.
“I’ve been watching a lot of dunks these past couple of days,” Toppin said. “I’m going to try do stuff that hasn’t been yet in the dunk contest. I’ve seen a lot of great dunks. I might have to break out one of the old dunks that someone did. I’m definitely preparing for the time to come.”
Toppin has stiff competition in Indiana’s Cassius Stanley and Portland’s Anfernee Simons, and although he is friends with Stanley, they are playing for keeps – the winner will be donating the $100,000 prize to a historically black college, with Toppin playing for York College.
“It’s definitely crazy to me, and it’s crazy because I was just texting with Cassius the other day,” Toppin said. “Both of us were saying how surreal it is. We’re in our first year in the NBA and we get to compete in this dunk contest. There’s three amazing dunkers, Cassius and me and Anfernee. So all three of us, I feel like we’re going to put on a show for everybody. Having this opportunity is a blessing.”
Randle, for one, told the media Sunday he thinks Obi is the favorite.
"Obi is winning it for sure. After what I saw yesterday, it was absolutely nuts, insane," Randle said. "He’s gonna do a great job and rep New York well."
Win or lose against friends, though, there’s one dunker Toppin is glad he doesn’t have to face: 2015 and 2016 Slam Dunk champ Zach LaVine, who is an All-Star this year instead.
“I’m glad Zach’s not in there,” Toppin said. “I’m going to put that out there. I’m glad he’s not in there because he’s a great dunker. Definitely, I love to compete. Even if he was in it, I would have been a great time and we would have put on a show for everyone."
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