SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Obi Toppin saw one of the greatest scorers in NBA history coming full-steam in his direction and decided to do everything possible to stop him.
The Pacers reserve forward was guarding Kevin Durant -- the No. 8 scorer on the NBA's all-time list and also the ninth leading scorer in the NBA this season at age 36 -- when Durant set a screen on Pacers point guard T.J. McConnell for Suns guard Monte Morris. Toppin saw the immediate need to switch and hounded Morris as he dribbled from the top of the key to the right wing while McConnell fought through the screen to try to trap him. Of course that left Durant alone at the right elbow.
So Toppin switched back and not only got in Durant's way but took the ball from him, stripping the ball as Durant was trying to get a shot off. Durant wanted a foul, but it was instead ruled a block and a defensive rebound.
"He kept it low," Toppin said. "He usually keeps it high. He's 7-foot. When you bring the ball down, it's easier for guys to get the ball. I just saw an opportunity and grabbed it."
It was one play on a night when Durant scored 37 points, but in the Pacers' 120-111 win on Thursday, every stop mattered. More to the point, the fact that the Pacers trusted Toppin -- long derided as a below average defender -- on Durant says a lot about how far Toppin has come, especially in recent weeks. The fact that he made a positive impact says even more.
Over the last eight games, Toppin has arguably played the best defense of his NBA career -- possibly his basketball life. He's also scored in double figures in each of those games, averaging 15.1 points on 59.2% shooting including 42.9% from 3-point range, 6.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals. His play off the bench has helped spark the Pacers as they attempt to turn around what has been a disappointing season as they've won three straight to improve to 13-15.
"In the last two-and-a-half, three weeks, Obi has taken his game to another level," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "More physical. Defense and rebounding really, really tremendous. Offensively, he's getting in a rhythm. He's one of our important weapons. When he defends and rebounds the way he has been in recent games, it's another really important factor for us."
Prior to this season and maybe even prior to this month, defense would have never been even remotely considered a strength of Toppin's. He's 6-9, 220 pounds with a 7-2 wingspan and a 40-inch vertical leap. He's one of the league's best rim-runners and that's made him an offensive force throughout his five years in the league. He has blossomed in the Pacers' uptempo attack, averaging 10.4 points per game and 17.9 per 36 minutes on 56.7% shooting since being acquired from the Knicks in a 2023 trade. However his physical assets have rarely translated on the defensive end.
Though he was the consensus national player of the year at Dayton in 2019-20, every detailed draft scouting report on Toppin notes defense as a primary area of concern. The Knicks took him No. 8 overall in that draft despite then-new coach Tom Thibodeau's obsession with defense, and the fact that Toppin didn't improve in that area seemed to be a significant reason why he averaged just 14.7 minutes per game in three seasons and why the Knicks were wiling to send him to the Pacers for a pair of second-round picks in July of 2023. The Knicks were dynamic on offense when they played Toppin with All-Star Julius Randle, but Thibodeau preferred a shot-blocking center and neither Toppin nor Randle qualify so Toppin came off the bench while Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein got the minutes at center.
Joining the Pacers has been a rejuvenating experience for Toppin as he's averaged 20.9 minutes per game since he was acquired. He graciously accepted a move from the starting lineup to the bench about two months into last season but has consistently made an impact. He scored the second most total points (185) off the bench of a player in last year's playoffs with only McConnell (200) scoring more. But even with the Pacers, his defense has lagged behind his offense.
But Carlisle and the coaching staff -- in particular assistants Jim Boylen and Jenny Boucek -- have focused on the defensive end this season with Toppin.
"I just try to accept every challenge, whether it's guarding guys like KD or whoever," Toppin said. "Jim and Jenny are always working on me on working on that so I can be a better player."
They've worked with him on using his length to keep opponents from driving, but also on making sure he keeps tabs on his responsibilities within the Pacers' defensive system -- where he has to be in rotation, when he has to switch and when he doesn't.
And since Dec. 1, that seems to have paid off on a number of levels. He's better in one-on-one defense, but he's also executing coverages well, getting his hands in passing lanes and on loose balls. He has 21 steals this season and 11 of them have come in the last eight games -- the most on the team in that stretch.
It's also important, as Carlisle noted, that Toppin makes a point to see more plays through to the end. Because he's so fast in transition and can create fast breaks all by himself, he has a tendency to leak out early so he can get in front of the defense for easy -- but often creative -- dunks. When he does that and they get the ball, the Pacers aren't too proud to reward him for cheating the play, but that can often lead to them simply never getting the ball. That's why his career rebounding numbers -- 3.3 per game, 7.0 per 36 minutes for his career -- are low for a player with his athletic gifts.
"He's already an elite offensive player," Carlisle said. "He's a guy that is so fast from end-to-end that when he leaks out, he gets way ahead of the crowd, but that compromises our rebounding. He's been better with the details and those are possessions that we need."
Last year, Toppin recorded five rebounds or more in just 24 of the 82 games he appeared in. He finished with 3.9 per game for the year, which happened to be a career high, but his 6.7 rebounds per 36 minutes were less than he averaged in his first two seasons in New York. In his first 19 games this year, he grabbed five rebounds or more just four times and was averaging just 3.1 rebounds per game at that point.
But in the last eight, he's averaging 6.6 per game -- second only to Pascal Siakam's 7.9 -- with 5.9 per game of those coming on the defensive end. He's been held under five rebounds just once in that stretch and recorded at least eight rebounds four times including against the Suns on Thursday in just 17 minutes of work.
"I knew I always had to work on my rebounding," Toppin said. "It's not something that I can't do. It's just an effort thing."
And all that work on rebounding hasn't cost him much of anything on the offensive end. When he gets steals, he creates more fastbreak opportunities and he's fast enough to run even when he makes a point to stay around the rim for defensive rebounds. He's making a remarkable 72.6% of his 2-point shots this season including 81.1% of his attempts within 3 feet. He's made at least one 3-pointer in each of his last eight games lifting his 3-point shooting clip to 36% after a slow start there.
"He's been amazing," point guard Tyrese Haliburton said. "His energy and the pace he brings to the game of basketball, there are not many guys in the NBA who play as random and free and fast as him while making the right decisions."