In the 2024 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder selected point guard Nikola Topic with the No. 12 pick. When they turned the draft card in that night, they knew he would be sidelined for his true rookie season, a 2024-25 campaign in which the Thunder went on to win a title, with Topic recovering from a torn ACL suffered just before that 2024 NBA draft.
After playing in the NBA Summer League for the Bricktown Ballers back in July, he had an excellent showing in the team’s first preseason game of the season. Though following that game in Charlotte, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced he had a testicular procedure, which Sam Presti explained later revealed Topic had been unfortunately diagnosed with testicular cancer. That has left him sidelined the entire 2025-26 campaign to this point, as he received chemotherapy.
Topic finished cancer treatment at the turn of the New Year and was seen doing on-court work before the start of select Thunder games since then. On Monday, the 20-year-old guard was assigned to the team’s G League affiliate, the OKC Blue, as they battled the Sioux Falls Skyforce on Topic’s debut.
“Great accomplishment. I just can’t say enough about him as a guy. His mental toughness, maturity and resilience. … We’re all just collectively thrilled that he’s back playing basketball. I know he’s missed it a great deal. This is just so good for him mentally to get his feet back underneath him,” OKC Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said of Topic in Los Angeles prior to the Thunder vs. Lakers affair.
In this contest, the former lottery pick came off the bench for Daniel Dixon’s squad. The second he entered the game, he was tasked with triggering a baseline out-of-bounds play. Before a tick had dropped off the clock and his first professional NBA minute had been counted, he had an assist to Payton Sandford.
The next time down the floor, Topic operated the pick and roll to find Blue center Viktor Lakhin for an easy bucket, which started a trend of high-level passes from the playmaking guard. Including a no-look lob to Lakhin to get the big man behind the defense and to the charity stripe.
Perhaps his most impressive play was creating a triple for himself off the dribble during his first NBA G League game.
Topic was under control the entire night and a energy giving passer who set the OKC Blue up for success against the Skyforce defense. He finished the night with seven points, a rebound to couple with seven assists while shooting 3-for-5 from the floor and 1-for-2 on 3-point attempts in 16 minutes of work.
It is yet to be seen how many G League games Topic will log or what his next steps are, but this was a great first step for the Thunder lottery pick in his return to play protocol.
Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of the Oklahoma City Thunder season and Nikola Topic’s return to the hardwood.