Obi vs. Tou

BEVERLY HILLS (MI) – November 14, 2023 was an auspicious day in former Flyer basketball history. On that date, Obi Toppin6-9/220lb | Brooklyn, New York
Dayton 2018-2020
2020 Naismith National POY
2000 Wooden Award finally had his breakout game with Indiana, tallying 27 points and 6 boards in 37 minutes in a Pacers win over Philly.

Here is what that looked like:

https://twitter.com/IQfor3/status/1724620655662940294

While that highlight package was impressive, none of those buckets compare to Obi One’s reverse jam over perennial all-star Joel Embiid in an earlier tilt vs. those same Sixers:

https://www.nba.com/pacers/videos/toppin-with-a-crazy-slam

Meanwhile, across the country Toumani Camara was getting his very first start in a Portland Blazers uni against the Utah Jazz. Flyer NBA watcher Professionally Lowd tweeted the following factoid:

The last time 2 Flyers started an NBA game on the same day was January 11, 1985 – Johnny Davis with the Cavs and Jim Paxson with the Blazers.

Monday, November 27th will be even more special when the two UD greats face off for the first time. The Indianapolis UD Alumni chapter is having a pre-game meetup at O’Reilly’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, across the street from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. When I spoke to Toumani here in Detroit a few weeks ago, he hoped that many of the current Flyer team, staff and fans would be heading west on I-70 for the contest.

Both of our guys have been the recipient of some good ink as of late. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Obi

This quote from Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle kinda says it all about #1:

A great pre-season profile of Obi and how he has grown since his days playing with his dad on the NYC playgrounds from the Indy Star:

https://archive.is/0RMJd#selection-455.0-455.91

This piece from The Ringer entitled “With Tyrese Haliburton, All Things Are Possible” is notable for this passage on how Toppin became a Pacer:

Obi Toppin, leak-out artist extraordinaire, has predictably become one of Haliburton’s favorite targets. The former Knick had been eyeing the Pacers for more than a year, and strategizing with his agent about how he might be able to get to Indiana. A trade granted his wish. It was a perfect opportunity for the Pacers to supercharge their frontcourt with one of the league’s most sensational open-floor talents.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2023/11/13/23958254/tyrese-haliburton-indiana-pacers

So, while we Flyer fans might have been semi-shocked by Obi’s exit from his hometown Knicks, he wasn’t–he had been plotting for a way to make it happen!

Some links to help you follow Obi’s exploits:

Official Pacers website: https://www.nba.com/pacers/

Pacers Digest MB: https://www.pacersdigest.com/

Pacers Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/pacers/

Tou

Early season accolades for Camara from USA Today:

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2023/10/toumani-camara-damian-lillard-trade-portland-trail-blazers-phoenix-suns

The Toumani Camara Revolution Will Be Televised:

https://www.blazersedge.com/2023/11/4/23941300/portland-trail-blazers-toumani-camara-jabari-walker-starter-matisse-thybulle-memphis-grizzlies-bench

5 Young NBA Players Who Need More Minutes:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10096931-5-young-nba-players-who-need-more-minutes

The Ringer’s NBA rookie rankings: