The 26-year-old forward has been a strong presence off the bench for the Pacers, averaging an efficient 11 points on 60.5 percent shooting while intermittently supplying the series with between-the-legs breakaway jams.
Once a Knicks fan favorite for those same moves in orange and blue, Toppin has been mostly booed lightly during his appearances this series at MSG.
The three-year stint and subsequent breakup, after all, wasn’t totally harmonious.
After being drafted eighth by the Knicks in 2020 — four spots ahead of his Indiana teammate, Tyrese Haliburton — Toppin was supposed to represent the team’s power forward of the future.
Instead, Julius Randle unexpectedly emerged as an All-Star and Toppin was relegated to inconsistent reserve minutes.
A boiling point was reached during last year’s Eastern Conference semis when Toppin and Thibodeau engaged in a heated altercation after Game 4 in Miami.
The context was a long frustration from Toppin over his role.
After he was dealt for a couple of future second-round picks, Toppin was hopeful for more consistency with the Pacers.
He also had a chance to boost his value as a 2024 restricted free agent.
“It’s nothing personal,” Toppin told The Post a few months after the trade. “It’s just the business side of things. Obviously, I was upset at times but you got to get past that.
“It’s definitely super hard,” added Toppin about being pulled from games quickly by Thibodeau because of mistakes.
“For me, being in the game, being in live games, it’s easier to say you can mess up on something and get better from it than it would be in practice. If you don’t play, you don’t get through your mistakes and you don’t learn.”
Toppin was also pulled from the Pacers’ starting lineup during the regular season, but finished with career highs in minutes (21.1), points (10.3), field-goal percentage (57.3 percent) and rebounds (3.9).
More relevant to the Knicks’ current conundrum, Toppin was healthy while playing 82 games.
He’s part of a bench that is outscoring New York’s in the series by a wide margin.
With the Knicks so shorthanded — especially with Randle out, plus Josh Hart and OG Anunoby listed as questionable — Toppin would’ve probably played heavy minutes if he stuck around.
He’s trying to eliminate the Knicks instead.
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