Obi Toppin had an ‘intense altercation’ with coach Tom Thibodeau after Knicks’ Game 4 playoff loss

Knicks forward Obi Toppin had an ‘intense verbal altercation’ with head coach Tom Thibodeau after New York lost a playoff game against the Miami Heat in the second round of the postseason, according to a report from The Athletic.

Toppin, 25, was left fuming over his lack of game time after sitting on the bench for all of the second half of Game 4 in Miami on May 8.

Immediately after the contest was over, the third-year Knicks player confronted his head coach and their exchange ‘spilled into the [team’s] postgame meeting’ in the visiting locker room at Kaseya Center. 

Unverified audio footage from the Heat’s home court also shows Toppin yelling at someone before being calmed down by several of his teammates, including Julius Randle, Josh Hart and Evan Fournier, in the tunnel after the game, although it was unclear at the time who he was angry with. 

Several Knicks players declined to comment on the altercation, postgame. Toppin didn’t address reporters for the remainder of the series.

The 2020 National College Player of the year, who’s from Brooklyn, registered 18 points and eight rebounds as a starter in Game 1 in the Knicks’ 101-108 loss to the Heat. 

He was named among New York’s starting five after Randle was sidelined with an ankle injury, sustained in the team’s first round series win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

However, Toppin saw his game time dramatically dwindle following the return of ‘King Julius,’ only playing a mere six minutes in the team’s Game 4 loss. 

The Athletic reported that Toppin and Thibodeau made up a day after their clash. The Knicks’ No. 1 played 12 minutes in each of the team’s following two games in the series, as New York crashed out of the playoffs.

Toppin made up with his head coach a day after the clash, playing in the team’s last two games

Toppin, who selected as the eighth overall pick out of the 2020 NBA draft, has been playing 14.7 minutes per contest on average in his first three seasons in the Big Apple. 

He’s mostly come off the bench as a backup to Randle, the team’s star forward and a two-time All-Star. 

Toppin is eligible for a contract extension this offseason and could be dealt with ahead of Thursday’s draft in exchange for a late first-round pick or a big-name signing who’s currently under contract. 

The Knicks are short on picks this year, despite owning 10 first-rounders all the way until 2029. The franchise traded away its first-round pick this year to obtain Josh Hart from the Portland Trail Blazers prior to the NBA trade deadline in February. 

New York is currently without a general manager, ever since the departure of Scott Perry was confirmed in May. Perry, 59, had been the team’s GM since the 2017-18 season.