Obi Toppin was supposed to be a transition weapon. He was rather in year 1 with Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — Many thought Obi Toppin would be a good basketball player with the Indiana Pacers, but few knew what to expect when it came to Toppin's form behind the scenes.

The Pacers acquired Toppin in a trade with the New York Knicks last summer. Two future second-round picks were sent away as the athletic young forward arrived in Indiana. Players and coaches raved about Toppin fitting in with his transition abilities, and the Dayton product couldn't wait to be back in the Midwest.

Running alongside Tyrese Haliburton in the open court helped many players shine, and the idea was that Toppin would be no exception. What's impossible to know is how well a player will fit into a team's culture. And on a Pacers roster that is a tight-knit group, the right attitude is important.

Toppin's form behind the scenes ended up being as strong as it was on the pitch. Look no further than his end-of-season interview, where Toppin sat on the dais to answer questions about his future once the campaign ends. To his right sat young guard Andrew Nembhard.

“Now that it’s over, I’m just going to relax, right?” Toppin said when asked about his summer before a fistfight with Nembhard. In that moment, their connection was clear. Toppin was asked a serious question about his future and made a light-hearted moment with his teammate.

Toppin has often shown this side of his character. He bonded with his fellow Pacers at every turn. When necessary, he trained lightly. In an instant, he was able to concentrate. This is how he was able to improve his three-point percentage and quickly became a great cultural fit.

It helped that the team was around his age. They have similar interests and fought on the hard court in college. Everyone gets along. It can be an intimidating environment, but that wasn't the case for Toppin.

“We are all young on this team. We have many more years in this league. This whole year we have grown as teammates,” he said. “We have grown as a whole culture. [It] I felt like everyone gave everything they could for this organization every day. » Even though the season didn't end the way the team hoped, these actions were significant.

The fact that he's a utility player has helped Toppin adapt. The Ex-Knick entered Indiana as a high-flying player who opened the game with vertical spacing and transition brilliance. In college, he turned out to be average, but most considered him a rim runner and sleek finisher in the NBA.

All of these things turned out to be true. But what really made Toppin a great candidate was his improved shooting and offensive rebounding. Indiana needed someone to hit the glass hard – it was often Toppin. They needed a way to space the court more often, so the young forward spent hours working on his technique and made over 40 percent of his three shots. Suddenly, transition play was no longer a requirement for Toppin to be at his best.

After developing his skills, he could fit into almost any formation and play at any pace. For a versatile Pacers team that described its offensive style as “haphazard,” this all turned out to be very important. Toppin played center and, on rare occasions, on the wing. His new skills were vital. His fit was essential.

This type of player, and one who fits in perfectly culturally, is exactly what Indiana was hoping to land when they traded for Obi Toppin. He had a certain gravitas as a person and backed it up with a career year on the hardwood. And in the playoffs, he was as focused as anyone.

“We weren't really thinking about it. We were just thinking about getting a win,” he said when asked if playing against the Knicks in the playoffs (or Aaron Nesmith against his old team) was distracting. It wasn't for any of them.

“There's a lot of good things that came out of this season, and we don't want to overlook them,” Toppin said that night.

Now, Toppin is a free agent. He will likely be a restricted free agent, meaning Indiana will be able to keep him if they match an offer from another team or simply agree to a new deal themselves. And general manager Chad Buchanan has already said the team would like to keep Toppin if the business side of basketball allows it.

“Very happy with this adjustment. He seems to be happy here too. He would like to continue the relationship,” Buchanan said of Toppin's free agency. “That's part of the business when you're in a contract situation. But I'm really happy with Obi as a Pacer.”

Free agency could begin as early as tomorrow, a day after the conclusion of the NBA Finals. Maybe Toppin and the Pacers agree on terms quickly. After all, he was a perfect fit on and off the field.