The Oklahoma City Thunder face the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Finals, losing 0-1 in the series in which they must play catch-up in their quest for their first NBA championship.
Regardless of whether this series ends in jubilation or bitter disappointment, the OKC Thunder will add a lottery pick to next year’s rotation in rookie Nikola Topic.
Topic was the No. 12 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft after being considered a top-five talent in his class until injuries knocked him down the rankings. Today, after a year of rehabilitation, his teammates continue to praise him for his work behind the scenes.
Most recently, at NBA Finals media day, Kenrich Williams gave a scouting report on the Thunder rookie and how his skills translate to the NBA.
“Good ball handler, he’s your modern NBA point guard. Get to the rim, very good passer, he must be what, 19 years old? and he plays like a 30-year-old veteran, that’s how I can describe him,” veteran Kenrich Williams said this week.
Williams not only gave a scouting report on the subject, but spoke about what his future might hold after recently sharing the floor with him.
“He can be very good, he can be very good. Just watching him come back from his ACL injury, being on the field with him a little bit, I was able to play with him a little bit, he has a very, very bright future,” Williams added.
Williams wasn’t the only player to praise Topic this week, defensive ace Lu Dort also discussed observing the rookie rehab process to date and highlighting one of his key traits.
“He’s done a lot of recovery work, but you can see his talent and how much more comfortable he is with the ball. Recently he started playing with us and being a little more active with us,” Dort said of Topic. “He’s still recovering from his injury but I see how comfortable he is on the ball and what type of player he’s going to be.”
The subject can pave the way for the Thunder’s secondary unit as a setter to make life easier for the Oklahoma City offense when superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is no longer on the court. This will be one of the key storylines to watch next season in Bricktown, regardless of whether or not they win the NBA Finals.
