Obi Toppin 'getting better' but no timeline on return to Knicks
Knicks forward Obi Toppin (1) on the court during a time out during the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, on Friday, Dec 23, 2022. Credit: Brad Penner
DALLAS — When Obi Toppin was injured on Dec. 7 in the Knicks win over the Atlanta Hawks he shrugged off the pain at first, staying in the game for a few more minutes, hopeful that it was just a bruise. But a day later an MRI revealed a non-displaced fracture of the fibula head.
Speaking Tuesday morning for the first time since the injury, Toppin came walking down the hallway at Southern Methodist University’s Moody Coliseum as the Knicks were finishing the morning shootaround showing no limp or ill effects from the injury. But he still had no timeline for a return to the lineup.
“Everything has been good,” Toppin said. “We’ve been progressing, getting better. But there isn’t a timetable in when I’ll be back. But we’re just taking it day by day. Getting better every single day and working on things.
“It’s a non-weight-bearing bone in your leg. From what I know. And it only uses 10% of your body weight. The top of it — the fibular head bone — was fractured a little bit. And so that’s basically it. . . . It’s going to be a couple more re-evaluations but there’s nothing scheduled now. Whenever they say we’re getting something done, they tell me day to day. So whenever they tell me something I get up and go.”
For now, it’s just form shooting, workouts in the pool and as he noted, flexing his muscles, “a lot of upper body lifts, so if y’all see me come back swole, that’s why.”
His injury came in the second game of the Knicks recent eight-game winning streak and the team has made due in his absence by increasing the minutes for starter Julius Randle and utilizing Jericho Sims in Toppin's spot in the rotation.
“I’m not frustrated but I definitely want to be out there with those guys,” Toppin said. “But things happen. You just got to think positive. Good things will happen.
“They’ve been playing good. I know the last couple games haven’t gone our way but I feel like everyone is doing their job, having fun, moving the ball. Especially Ju. He’s been playing great for us. He needs to keep doing that for sure. And we’re going to be a really good team when we all get together."
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
