The Indiana Pacers narrowly fell short of a championship, losing Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night. Heading into the playoffs, nobody expected the Pacers to make it out of the Eastern Conference, let alone take the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games.
The Pacers built their success on incredible coaching, resilience, and an impressive group of role players. Of course, Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton were the stars of the show for Indiana, but guys like Andrew Nembhard, TJ McConnell, Aaron Nesmith, Bennedict Mathurin, and Obi Toppin all had their moments.
However, not everyone stepped up on the biggest stage in Sunday's Game 7.
Backup forward Obi Toppin had three 17+ point performances through the first six games of the Finals, including a 20-point outburst in their Game 6 win, but the 27-year-old forward disappeared in Game 7.
Through 21 minutes on Sunday night, Toppin dropped zero points, two rebounds, one assist, and three turnovers on 0-4 shooting from the field and 0-3 from beyond the arc. Of course, the loss is not Toppin's fault, but his poor performance is certainly a talking point.
Obi Toppin so far in Game 7:
0 points
0/4 FG
3 turnovers
(via @realapp_) pic.twitter.com/KrY41C5wiu
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 23, 2025
During the game, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green called out Toppin for his poor performance with three separate posts on Threads (via @money23green).
Via Draymond Green: "And Obi a step slow right now"
Via Draymond Green: "Yeah Game 7 getting to Obi"
Via Draymond Green: "Case of the 7s for Obi. regroup at half time playa"
Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin (1)
Jun 19, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin (1) celebrates in the third quarter during game six of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
After the game, Toppin attributed his poor performance to the scary Achilles injury that Tyrese Haliburton suffered in the first quarter.
"We needed Ty out there... It sucked the soul out of us," Toppin said. "I ain't going to say out of everybody. But I don't feel like I played good because I was thinking about it the whole day and I felt like it was my fault."
#Pacers forward Obi Toppin on Tyrese Haliburton's injury:
"We needed Ty out there... It sucked the soul out of us. I ain't going to say out of everybody. But I don't feel like I played good because I was thinking about it the whole day and I felt like it was my fault." pic.twitter.com/yvlMzL0bMy
— WISH-TV News (@WISHNews8) June 23, 2025
Following the loss, the Pacers will simply have to regroup and hope that Haliburton does not have to miss the entire 2025-26 season, but guys like Toppin will have to hold it down if he does.