New York Knicks: Comparing Obi Toppin and Amar’e Stoudemire

New York Knicks: Stoudemire’s Advantage

As much as Knicks fans love to talk about Obi Toppin right now, it can’t be denied that Amar’e Stoudemire was already a superstar in the NBA by the time he was in his sophomore season. One reason being his ability to score at will. While Steve Nash was not his point guard yet, he just had to be fed inside the post and he could literally out-muscle almost anyone trying to guard him one on one.

While Amar;’e was unstoppable inside the paint, it would be criminal not to mention his lethal mid range jumper as well. He would either provide a soft touch off the glass or send it right through the net.

Think about it this way, you’re guarding Amar’e Stoudemire one on one on the elbow. You want to press but you know he’s either going to nail a jumper in your face or drive right by you and dunk on someone. It was simply a lose lose for so many defenders.

That’s the problem with Obi Toppin’s game, as flashy as he is, he’s extremely one dimensional on the offensive end. Toppin is shooting under 20% from three and hasn’t established any sort of mid range game. Therefor, if Obi is struggling with a specific defender, he is immediately out of options.

That’s why ultimately, Stoudemire was the much better player at this stage. He could have been a first option on so many teams and had already developed at an exponential rate. With that being said, Obi could absolutely one day reach that level. It just comes down to how much is he able to improve and what is his ceiling. If by next year Toppin can shoot 35% from three and shoot off the dribble, we could have an all star on our hands. For now however, it is a little insulting to compare him to the likes of Amar’e Stoudemire.