Former Heritage Panther, MCC Hustler Obi Toppin Competing for NBA Title With Pacers
By Zane Garcia // June 11, 2025
Obi Toppin Spent His Freshman and Sophomore Years of High School In Brevard County
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin spent his freshman year of high school at Heritage High School and sophomore year of high school at Melbourne Central Catholic before moving back to his home state of New York.
Toppin’s father, a well-known basketball player with the nickname “Dunker’s Delight,” spent time with the entertainment basketball group “Court Kingz,” which has competed across Brevard County for years.
Long before Toppin’s phenom at Dayton University and a top ten NBA Draft pick, he was just an average-sized kid growing up in New York. Concluding his middle school years, his family moved from the Bushwick neighborhood to Melbourne.
At 14 years old, Toppin hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet and was not nearly a standout specimen. Back in 2013, he spent his freshman year at Heritage High School, joining a program that had just finished a 22-7 season with plenty of talent.
The young Toppin was just at the bottom of the list of guys to be seen. After that season, Toppin transferred to Melbourne Central Catholic for his sophomore year. His skills would increase, but his height didn’t until his senior year.
After his two years in Melbourne, Toppin moved back to New York with his mother and brother, finishing his school years at Ossining High School and doing a postgraduate year at Mt. Zion Prep in Baltimore.
He had finally maxed out at 6-feet-9 and was gaining strides on the court with his talent.
After receiving numerous offers, Toppin chose Dayton over some of the nation’s top basketball schools, including Georgetown, Texas A&M, Illinois, and Minnesota. While he had now accomplished a significant goal of playing Division I basketball, this was just a stepping stone in his career.
Toppin dominated at Dayton, leading the Flyers in scoring as a redshirt freshman with 14.4 points per game. He became the first freshman to make the All-Atlantic 10 first team in 20 years. He did test the waters and worked out for a handful of NBA teams before returning for his sophomore season.
What a decision that was, as Toppin became Dayton’s first All-American and was named College Basketball’s Player of the Year, averaging 20 points and seven rebounds per game on 63 percent shooting from the field.
That 63 percent put him fifth nationally in field goal percentage, and he was among the top in the Atlantic 10 in three-point percentage as well. He set records and solidified Dayton as a contender in the 2019-20 season, had it not been for Covid-19 the Flyers who sat at 29-2 and no.3 in the nation looked destined for a national title.
After his terrific sophomore season, Toppin declared for the NBA draft and was selected eighth by the New York Knicks.
He was coming home, and at the time, it seemed like an excellent fit. He started to make a name for himself, showing flashes of scoring, but primarily known for his “high-rising” abilities, Toppin participated in the dunk contest in his first and second year, winning his second one.
His potential was starting to show, and the consistency he showed earned him a spot in the starting rotation in his third season with the Knicks. Coincidentally, Toppin’s first game and one of his best games as a Knick would come against his future team, the Indiana Pacers. In July of 2023, just a day after his brother Jacob Toppin signed with the Knicks, Toppin was traded to the Pacers for two future draft picks.
While leaving his hometown team and the potential to play with his younger brother was tough, the Pacers were the better fit for Toppin, as his role in New York was undefined and did not allow him to reach maximum value on the court. Last off-season the Pacers would resign Obi to a four-year $60 million contract.
Since joining Indiana, Toppin’s scoring average has been in double figures, which he did not achieve in his first three seasons in New York. Toppin has seen time in the starting rotation as well as coming off the bench. With the success the Pacers have had this season, having a player like Toppin to come off the bench and play crucial minutes has been vital to the team’s run through the playoffs.
Toppin scored 17 in the Pacers’ Game 1 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, making him the second leading scorer behind Eastern Conference Finals MVP Pascal Siakam.
The Thunder stormed back in Game 2 with a convincing 123-107 victory to tie the series at 1-1. The series will now head to Indiana as the Pacers will now have a chance to play on their home floor for games three and four in the best-of-seven NBA Finals.
Tune in Wednesday, June 11 at 8:30 p.m. EST as Pacers and Thunder both try to take the series lead.
