CITY OF OKLAHOMA — Oklahoma City Thunder Rookie Nikola Topic spoke to NBA media for the first time since his cancer diagnosis. Topic made his NBA debut in a 105-86 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks before the All-Star break last week. It was an emotional moment for Nikola, who received a standing ovation at the Paycom Center.
After helping the Thunder to a 105-86 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, Topic, play in his first two NBA Games, talked about what it was like during his first postgame media availability Friday.
“Awesome moment. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life – thanks to the fans,” Topic said. “Of course I will remember it for the rest of my life.”
Nikola Topić receives a standing ovation while playing in the first NBA game of his career.
He also picks up an assist for a nice pass to Jaylin Williams for the easy bucket. The topic starts well pic.twitter.com/oJqrXDkPKT
– Josué Pavon (@Joe_Sway) February 13, 2026
Topic admits that coming back to the game after being away from it for so long felt strange. However, he managed to put his emotions aside shortly after playing in the first NBA game of his career.
“It was quite weird at first. I kind of get the feeling of the game back,” Topic added. “I was away for a while. It was so weird coming back. I was finding myself doing things I’d never done before. It was kind of hard to adjust to that, but every game was better. The first game in the G League. The second game was better. The first game here was OK. The second game was better. But I think it’s only going to get better.”
Nikola Topić thanks Thunder fans for their standing ovation during their NBA debut:
“I will remember it for the rest of my life” pic.twitter.com/N8xqQELZoc
– Josué Pavon (@Joe_Sway) February 21, 2026
Topic finished with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 1-of-2 from deep, three rebounds and two assists in 11 minutes. He helped keep the Nets at bay throughout the second half, especially early in the fourth quarter when Topic had five points and an assist in less than two minutes, giving Oklahoma City a 16-point advantage.
Chet Holmgren stays 100 on Thunder’s Nikola topic
Star Chet Holmgren Reacted to Nikola Topic’s Thunder Debut congratulating the rookie for his courage. While Holmgren missed his entire rookie season due to injury, similar to Topic’s ACL repair that sidelined him for the entire 2024-25 campaign, Chet couldn’t begin to understand Nikola’s testicular cancer diagnosis in October.
Holmgren shared a heartfelt view of Topic’s return to basketball.
“Anyone who fights cancer is fighting for their life. I’ve never been able to understand what that’s like. It’s just a testament to (Topić)’s strength and who he is as a person,” Holmgren said. “It would have been completely justified for him to burden everyone around him and sulk and be angry at the world because the kid that he is, he doesn’t deserve this. We’re all so happy that he was able to fight back, get back to hoops.
“You see a much bigger smile on his face when he’s able to be out there with his shoes on. I thought he had a really good game tonight. He could have made 100 shots or missed 100 shots tonight; it was an unbelievable game for him. To be able to go out there, get some reps under his belt, and now he can learn from them, we can learn from him too.”
Topic will play the third game of his NBA career when the Thunder host the Cavs at Paycom Center on Sunday.
