Oklahoma City Thunder guard Nikola Topic has begun chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed with testicular cancer.
The 20-year-old Serbian underwent surgery on October 6 at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to perform a biopsy.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti said doctors were “extremely positive” about Topic’s long-term health.
“The biopsy results have been returned and it is a case of testicular cancer,” Presti said.
“‘Tope’ didn’t want to make this information public until he started treatments, which he did recently. He’s been here, he’s training, he’s training – throughout this process, he’s been able to do it.
“He has a wonderful group of oncologists and they are extremely positive about his outlook.”
Presti did not put a time frame on Topic’s return and added: “Our only expectations from him are to focus on that.
“That’s his biggest priority. He’ll come back and play basketball when he can, but we’re not putting any time frame or expectation on that.
“He has all our support, encouragement and love.”
Topic was the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, but suffered a serious left knee injury and did not play in the 2024-25 season as the Thunder won the NBA championship.
