Third-year forward Jacob Toppin, who is on a two-way contract with the Hawks, will miss the remainder of the 2025/26 season after undergoing surgery on Monday to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, the team announced in a press release.
According to the Hawks, Toppin sustained the shoulder injury in a November 29 G League game with the College Park Skyhawks.
After going undrafted out of Kentucky in 2023, Toppin spent most of his first two NBA seasons on a two-way deal with New York. He was waived by the Knicks in early March and quickly caught on with Atlanta, signing with the Hawks a few days later. He re-signed with the Hawks on another two-way contract in July.
Toppin hasn’t played much in the NBA to this point in his career, making 31 total appearances for a total of 131 minutes (4.2 minutes per game). He appeared in five games for Atlanta in ’25/26, averaging just 3.4 MPG.
While his NBA role has been very modest, Toppin has been a productive contributor at the NBAGL level. In five games with College Park this season, he filled the stat sheet, averaging 18.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.2 blocks in 31.0 minutes per contest, with a shooting slash line of .480/.357/.600. The 25-year-old averaged 22.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG and 3.3 APG on .503/.371/.812 shooting in 23 total G League games in ’24/25 (36.6 MPG).
It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Hawks waive Toppin in the coming days or weeks — his two-way deal will become guaranteed if he remains under contract through January 7. Toppin is the younger brother of Pacers forward Obi Toppin, who is also dealing with a long-term injury — he underwent foot surgery at the end of October and is expected to be out until at least the start of February.