Obi Toppin saw the receptions RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley received in their returns to the Garden last month and the former fan favorite was hoping for the same.
The latter two former Knicks garnered standing ovations and a video tribute when they came back with the Raptors on Jan. 20 for the first time since they were shipped to Toronto in the late-December OG Anunoby deal.
Toppin entered Thursday’s game six minutes into the first quarter, and he received only a pleasant round of applause from the fans — and no tribute — that didn’t come close to that of his former Knicks teammates.
“I hope it’s a good reaction, but for me I’m just happy to be back here and to get to play again in this amazing arena and to be back in front of these amazing fans. Just having that opportunity is a blessing,” Toppin told The Post before the Knicks’ 109-105 victory over the Pacers. “I’m definitely hoping I can have something similar to RJ and Quick, but more than anything, I’m just glad to be back home.”
The Brooklyn native finished with 12 points, including a familiar breakaway dunk in the second quarter, in 22 minutes.
Toppin spent three seasons with the Knicks after they selected him with the eighth overall pick in the 2020 draft, but his playing time was sporadic behind three-time All-Star power forward Julius Randle.
The 25-year-old Toppin was dealt to Indiana over the summer for two future second-round picks, and he made 28 starts to open the season before moving into a reserve role in December, and especially so since the Pacers acquired former All-Star Pascal Siakam from Toronto on Jan. 17.
With the loss, the Pacers fell to 27-22, still good for the sixth playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
“I feel like our season is going really good. We’re a bunch of young guys who know our role,” Toppin said. “We know how to play together and are having fun out there.”
Toppin already had faced the Knicks on Dec. 30, the day of the Anunoby trade.
The Knicks played with a shorthanded roster during that game, and Toppin’s younger brother — two-way Knicks rookie Jacob Toppin — even got into the game in the closing minutes to share a court together with his sibling for the first time in the NBA.
Their mom attended that game, but Toppin was expecting more family members, including his father, at Thursday’s contest.
He said “it was amazing having [Jacob] on the court with me” in Indiana, but the tight score precluded his younger brother from getting in Thursday night.
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