He didn't dunk in high school, and then he became the NBA's dunk king

In the first game of the Finals, almost everyone in the Pacers was the key to victory, Haliburton's stunner shot, Siakam's steady scoring output, Turner's magical three-pointer, Nembhard's play on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and the final five points in a row, but the most surprising X-factor was Obi Toppin.

In the game that eliminated his old club Knicks, Toppin had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks, and 2 of 4 three-pointers was amazing enough. And yesterday Toppin had 17 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, shooting an astonishing 5-of-8 three-pointers.

It's hard to imagine a forward who never used shooting as a selling point in the first two years of his career and shot only 31% from three-point range to shoot such a three-point percentage in the Finals. After three consecutive turnovers in the first half, Toppin almost missed a shot in the second half, punishing all of the Thunder's defense.

A dunk king can learn to shoot threes, and how much of a threat there is on the court, Aaron Gordon has told us. Interestingly, the Thunder West Finals G1 died in Gordon's three-point kill, and the Finals G1 also indirectly died in Toppin's 5 three-pointers.

As a 22-year slam dunk champion, before this year's playoffs, when it comes to Toppin, most people's impression of him is still stuck in his physical fitness, but there is nothing else to shine about.

As the No. 8 pick in '20, Toppin spent three years with the Knicks and never got the playing time to match the pick. In the three-year period, the second season with the most minutes of playing time was only 17 minutes per game, and it was only in the second half of the season that he got a lot of appearances.

The positions of Toppin and Randle overlap, and a coach like Thibodeau is pressed on top, so Toppin basically has no room to play under that system, and most of his highlights are just some dunk shots in the fast break, which makes people praise a slam dunk champion, but that's all.

After G1 of the finals, Topping also had an interesting remark: "Everybody here is willing to pass the ball, it's really fun, you don't want to be in the corner the whole game and watch somebody dribble." Considering that Toppin has played for the Knicks and Pacers in his career, Toppin's meaning is self-explanatory.

In the '23 offseason, the Knicks waived Toppin, and the No. 8 pick three years ago ended up trading only two second-round picks. You know, a few months ago, the Warriors traded the abolished Wiseman for five second-round picks. Looking back two years later, the Pacers' two-round second-round swap for Toppin was an important part of the road to the Finals.

Coming to the Pacers, Toppin met Bole Carlisle, although he basically couldn't start, but Toppin found his place in the team's lineup, the interior rotation of the small lineup, and the projection skills honed gave him stable playing time.

Last season, Toppin played in 82 games with the Pacers, averaging 21.1 minutes, 10.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, shooting 57 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range, which earned him a four-year, $60 million contract extension.

Toppin's three-point shooting slipped during the regular season this season, but he also shot close to 37 percent. In one game, Siakam, Haliburton, and Turner were all absent, and Toppin stepped up to become the team's savior, with 34 points and 10 rebounds, 7 of 10 three-point shots, and in the final moments of overtime, he drifted three points from the bottom corner of the defensive shot, and seven three-pointers were also a new high in Topin's career.

The game ended the Timberwolves' eight-game winning streak, and standing across from Toppin was Randle, who had taken up his playing time with the Knicks. As if against the old master, Topping can always play 120% of the state.

I don't know if you still have an impression, in the overtime of the Eastern Finals G1, Topping faced Ohashi's folding dunk at the last moment, and directly changed the difference from 1 point to 3 points, and the referee report after the game showed that Ohashi was fouled, which should have completely killed the suspense of the game.

Along the way, Topin's basketball career was also full of counterattacks. In high school, he didn't even have a ranking, let alone a high school student with a few stars, at first he was a defender, and then he grew to 2.06 meters before he began to turn inside. And throughout his high school career, Toppin didn't even complete a single dunk.

Due to his academic failures, Topping was limited to playing as a member of the sparring team during his first year at Dayton. But it was also a year of rapid progress for Topin, with every set, weightlift, and conditioning session he gave his all, and his form got better and better this year.

So the following year, Toppin broke Dayton's freshman scoring record and began to attract the attention of some NBA teams. In his second season, Toppin soared to the top of the game, playing a single-season performance at the all-time level of the NCAA.

Toppin averaged 20 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1 steal and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 63.3% from the field and 39% from three-point range. Dayton University has a team-best 29-2 record. This season, Toppin's terrifying 107 dunks set a new NCAA record.

Toppin swept all the awards, the All-American, all the All-American, and all the All-American Players, but unfortunately that year, the Crazy Three were canceled due to the pandemic, and Toppin lost the opportunity to lead Dayton University to continue making history.

Toppin participated in the draft, from obscurity a year ago to a stable top-10 pick the following year, and there are even rumors that the Warriors with the list in hand will take Topin. In the end, Toppin was drafted by the Knicks with the eighth pick, and New York is also where Toppin grew up.

Looking back at 2020, which is a recognized draft year, the top 10 picks should all be less developed than expected except for Huazi. Interestingly, this season's Pacers include Wiseman, who tore his Achilles tendon in the first game of the season, and there are four players from the Class of 2020 on the roster.

Wiseman, Toppin with the eighth pick, Haliburton with the 11th pick and Nesmith with the 14th pick were none of the picks selected by the Pacers. After a few years of not-so-successful careers, these guys have all been on the Pacers for the highlights.

Today is another year of college entrance examination, the college entrance examination, like the draft, is just a fork in the road in life, which determines a person's current path, but cannot determine the whole future. The starting point is important, but it's the process that determines whether the journey is exciting.

Still, hopefully you'll have a starting point with a high tolerance for error and a bit more on the road ahead. I wish you success in the college entrance examination, and may you look back on the three years of high school without regrets.