Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton praised Toppin’s impact, saying, “Obi was big for us off the bench,” in the postgame press conference.
The Pacers secured their second NBA Finals berth, their first since 2000, and will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 on Thursday in Oklahoma City.
Against his former team, the Knicks, Toppin averaged 9.3 points in the series and saw more playing time in Game 6 than in any other playoff game this season.
Toppin will be the first former Flyer to appear in an NBA Finals game in 48 years. The last two Flyers on the roster of a team in the finals did not see action.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Here’s a glance at Dayton’s history in the finals:
2020: Kostas Antetokounmpo, who spent two years at UD and was a redshirt freshman in coach Anthony Grant’s first season (2017-18), earned a ring with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, though he did not make an appearance in the playoffs. The Lakers beat the Miami Heat in six games in a series played during the pandemic in a quarantined environment in Orlando, Fla.
Antetokounmpo played in 20 NBA games over three seasons (2018-21). He has since played in France, Turkey, Greece and Spain.
1993: Negele Knight, Dayton’s eighth all-time leading scorer, was on the Phoenix Suns roster during the finals in 1993, when the Suns lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games. Knight appeared in five games in the Western Conference finals but did not make an appearance in the finals.
Knight appeared in 276 games in six NBA seasons.
1977: Johnny Davis, Dayton’s 18th all-time leading scorer, averaged 10.5 points in the NBA Finals for the Portland Trail Blazers as a rookie. Portland beat the Philadelphia 76ers in six games.
Davis started all six games and scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the clinching victory.
“The greatest thing that has ever happened to me,” Davis told The Oregonian newspaper after the game. “I’ve never had a feeling like this.
The Blazers drafted Davis in the second round with the No. 22 overall pick in 1976 after he played three seasons at Dayton.
“I had no idea it was going to end like this,” Davis said in 1977. “When I came to rookie camp and saw the type of guys I was playing against there, I thought I could play pro ball. Then after I saw the vets, there was no doubt in my mind. But to think it would be like this ... no way.”
Davis played his first two seasons in Portland and spent eight more years in the NBA.
1974: Hank Finkel, Dayton’s third all-time leading scorer, appeared in all seven games in the 1974 NBA Finals for the Boston Celtics, who beat the Milwaukee Bucks.
Finkel did not play in the first two rounds of the playoffs that year after averaging 2.5 points in 60 regular-season games.
*I didn’t play against the Knicks (in the semifinals)," Finkel said then, “because they don’t have a big center. I play here (in the finals) because Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) is big. I don’t get any extra help when I’m on him, and neither does Dave (Cowens).”
In 2024, Finkel talked 01940 The Magazine about the championship.
“I just remember playing with guys who wanted to win,” Finkel said. “That was what was so great about that championship, all those guys wanted to do was win. The championship in a way was secondary because they just wanted to win, no matter what was at stake.”
Finkel’s nine-year NBA career ended in 1975.
1970: Don May, Dayton’s second all-time leading scorer, played in two postgame games with the New York Knicks in 1970 when they won their first NBA title. He did not play in the NBA Finals as the Knicks beat the Lakers in seven games.
“It was more of a thrill than winning the NIT (with Dayton),” May said in 1970 after the Finals. “It was fantastic because the whole city of New York and others around the country were behind the Knicks because they hadn’t won it before. It was such a struggle. Although we were favored, we had to win from day to day.
“And it was almost numbing, when Willis (Reed) got hurt, to think that we might not win the playoffs. When he walked out on the court Friday, it was really something.
“We were made to feel part of the team. After the game we we’re all throwing champagne, not just the starters.”
May spent seven seasons in the NBA. His career ended in 1975.
1955: Don “Monk” Meineke, Dayton’s sixth all-time leading scorer, played in all seven NBA Finals games for the Fort Wayne Pistons. He scored six points in 13 minutes in a 92-91 loss in Game 7.
Meineke played five seasons in the NBA. His career ended after the 1958 season.
Notes: Roger Brown, who played for Dayton’s freshman team in 1960-61, won three ABA championships with the Pacers (1970, 1972 and 1973). The Pacers were one of four ABA teams to join the NBA in the 1976-77 season.
• Bobby Joe Hooper, Dayton’s 44th all-time leading scorer, played in the 1969 ABA Finals with the Pacers, who lost to the Oakland Oaks in five games. Brown also played for that team.
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