Detroit Pistons 2020 NBA Draft profile: Dayton’s Obi Toppin

Toppin’s weaknesses

On offense, there are two major flaws that seem to stick out when it comes to Toppin.

Firstly, Toppin does not have the greatest ball-handling skills. While this may not have been a major issue for a power forward even five years ago, we now even see some centers hold the ability to handle the ball and play from the top of the key.

While Toppin can play from the wings and inside the paint, he still has not solidified his ability to be a threat from outside. This leads into his second noticeable flaw. His shot selection can sometimes be a little questionable and lead to poor choices.

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While Toppin has a lot of offensive upside, he has a lot to work on defensively. To start with, while he can drive and get to the rim with ease, he seems to be a little heavy-footed on defense which can allow for defenders to get by him with their first step.

On top of that, given his first step not being that good, he may struggle with guarding players in the perimeter which could be a big deal, especially with the way more power forwards are in the NBA nowadays.

While Toppin holds the unique and highly sought after ability to be able to defend four positions, he needs to improve his defensive quickness in order to achieve that status.

One of the most concerning parts of Toppin’s draft profile is his age. While most top prospects are usually 20 years old and have spent one, maybe two years in college, that is not the case for Toppin.

Since Toppin red-shirted his first year at Dayton, Toppin has technically been in college basketball for three years now and will be 22 years old when the NBA draft comes around.