Obi Toppin was just a 5-year-old when LeBron James debuted in the NBA. It’s understandable that he was star-struck to watch the Lakers star up close.
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An All-Star moment is a memorable moment for any player. Being at the stage where the world is looking at you, playing against the league’s best, is a special moment for all NBA players. It is even special for a rookie to be at the All-Star Weekend among all the league’s great players, enjoying the annual event.
This season, due to the pandemic, the Rising Stars Challenge was not included in the one-day All-Star event. Due to this, many rookies didn’t get the chance to witness their first All-Star Weekend.
Luckily for New York Knicks rookie Obi Toppin, he was one of the only two rookies in the whole league to take part in the event. Cassius Stanley and Obi Toppin were the only rookies present during the prestigious occasion as the participants of the dunk contest.
It would surely be mesmerizing for any rookie to be a part of such an event. For Obi, it was ‘a dream come true’. One of his favourite moments of the event was his star-struck moment with LeBron James. The 23-year-old Power forward shared about his moment with King James:
“I always said that LeBron was one guy if I see him I’m gonna be like ‘Wow!’ And he as soon as I saw him, he looked at me, came up to me, and was like ‘What’s up Obi?’ I was like ‘Dang, he know my name?'”
Rooks still get starstruck by the King 🤩 👑 pic.twitter.com/wECMOy6Wvc
— ESPN (@espn) March 9, 2021
‘It was a dream come true and a fun experience’: Obi Toppin gives insights to his first All-Star Weekend
Obviously, any player’s first All-Star Weekend would be engraved in their memory forever. Obi called his first All-Star Weekend ‘a dream come true’:
“It’s a dream come true. I didn’t get the win, but all three of us had great dunks. It was a fun experience. So hopefully, we come back next year. That whole experience was good. Every player who is here is a great player and got her for a reason. Just being here with all these guys is amazing.”
Toppin did have some jaw-dropping dunks at his Slam Dunk Contest. Being so close to bringing the trophy to New York, he came second, losing the contest to Portland’s Anfernee Simons.
Obi Toppin has been a great pick for the New York Knicks franchise. The 6-foot-9 rookie has clearly shown loads of promise to the Knicks so far this season. He is definitely one of the key players for the Knicks who will be integral for them for years to come.
