NY Knicks: 3 Players Obi Toppin Can Learn From

NY Knicks: Obi Toppin should watch how Green creates

If you haven’t noticed, I am developing that theme of learning from the best. Toppin is in the NBA for goodness sakes, he should go big or go home with his development.

That being said, I picked Draymond Green for his playmaking and ball-handling ability. Obviously there are better playmaking guards, forwards, and big-men, but not too many.

Toppin is definitely not going to be the facilitating talent the likes of Nikola Jokic or LeBron James, or even Green.

How Draymond operates with the ball in his hands is something that any forward can learn from.

In this video, it is made clear that Green is one of the premier offensive centerpieces in league history. His IQ is off the charts. The reasoning for this is his attention to every detail, his awareness of everything unfolding on the court at every moment. Green sees the pass he needs to make before it’s even an option.

One of the more impressive and surprising parts of Toppin’s game so far is his desire and solid execution of pushing the pace and making the right reads, whether in the post or on the move, and really anywhere on the court. He is naturally unselfish, even to a fault.

For Toppin to unlock his playmaking potential, he needs to work on his ball handling a little bit. Just to the extent that he can control his own pace and be able to push himself and the ball right where it needs to be. Then, it is just about Obi Toppin seeing the right basketball play in front of him and making it happen.

Like Green, I believe Toppin can develop into a quality team player who can make the right plays and contribute to a well oiled offensive machine. The best teams in basketball work well in unison. Toppin’s playmaking and ball handling skills will give him another way of maximizing his effectiveness on the court regardless of his playing time.

There is no question that if Toppin doesn’t improve his shooting and scoring first then his playmaking will be less impactful. If he can make those strides, then the vision he has already displayed can be more properly utilized. Toppin probably won’t often be a threat to drop multiple dimes a night like Green or even Randle. That shouldn’t stop him though from being able to play a positive role.

Toppin and Green are also two players who have shown they can be well-rounded and versatile players. Green may shoot the basketball like he has a herniated disc in his spine, and he may get trolled for his “triple-single” stat lines, but he is 100% impactful 100% of the time.

Toppin can aspire to be the best version of Green he can be by continuing to perfect every part of his game so that he can always provide the right tools for the job, even on nights where he feels lost or is simply having a rough game in certain respects.