Obi Toppin might be the hardest prospect to project in mock drafts. Which teams make the most sense for him in the NBA Draft 2020?
The 2020 NBA Draft’s wild card is almost certainly going to be Obi Toppin of Dayton. Even though the draft has been wide open at the top all year, there’s a general sense of what range every player is going to end up going in. The top 5 appears to be LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, Deni Avdija, and Killian Hayes in some order, with the potential for Onyeka Okongwu, Tyrese Haliburton, or Cole Anthony to slide into one of those slots if the draft breaks a certain way.
Toppin is the one player who is very difficult to place. He’s all over draft boards depending on where intel is coming from, ranging from ninth at CBS, to sixth on our latest mock, to as high as third at The Athletic. This is because of his polarizing scouting profile. If you’re bought in, it’s because of his statistical production in college, his positive impact on Dayton’s performance, and his NBA body and passing skill that looks like it can be developed. However, it’s easy to not buy him being a top prospect too, thanks to his age at 22-years old, lack of positional versatility, and his very concerning defensive issues, particularly in the pick-and-roll.
Where would Obi Toppin be set up to succeed in the NBA Draft?
Toppin is going to need to go somewhere that’s a good fit for him to succeed at the next level, and his skill set makes him an obvious good fit on some teams and an obviously bad fit on others. He would be a really poor fit operating in Zion Williamson’s airspace in New Orleans, for example, and his defensive pairing with Karl-Anthony Towns would be a nightmare. But for teams that need scoring punch and vertical spacing, there’s good reason to look at him anywhere in the top 10. Since Toppin’s ending draft spot could be anywhere in the lottery, let’s look at the best lottery fits for the mid-major college basketball star.