Nikola Jokic makes his feelings clear on the subject Nikola of Thunder

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Nikola Jokic left Monday’s game with a knee injury.

Soon the Denver Nuggets will visit the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Denver superstar and MVP candidate Nikola Jokic will have the opportunity to face the young guard of the Thunder, Topic Nikola in an NBA setting for the first time.

Although Topic was drafted by the Thunder last season, he missed the entire year due to injury. When the 2025-2026 season began, Topic was out, recovering from a health issue.

Now that the former first-rounder is on the court for the Thunder, he is scheduled to face Jokic and the Nuggets on February 27. Before the action, Jokic praised the young Serbian guard.

Nikola Jokic Speaks Out on Nikola Ahead of Nuggets-Thunder

GettyNikola Jokic recently spoke about Thunder rookie Nikola Topic.

“I played with him, of course, a little bit with the national team. He’s a really good guy,” said Jokic. “Really talented. He is the future of Serbian basketball. It’s good… He is fighting for something that is probably more important, the most important, and he won it. I hope to see him tomorrow.”

Heading into the battle between the Nuggets and Thunder, Denver is coming off a big win against the Boston Celtics. Jokic saw the field for 33 minutes. He shot 11-28 from the field, making four shots from deep. He scored 30 points while producing 12 rebounds and six assists.

The Nuggets are 37-22 this year, trying to chase down the Thunder, who remain the best team in the Western Conference.

Denver is fourth in the conference, behind the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spursand OKC. The Thunder will enter the game with a 45-15 record. They currently have a 2.0 advantage over the second-seeded Spurs.

The rise of the Nikola subject

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The 23-year-old began his professional career abroad. He played with club Crvena zvezda in Serbia and was loaned out several times.

On the way to 2024 NBA Draft, Topic was considered one of the top prospects in the player pool. With the NBA’s growing interest in players outside of the NCAA, Topic found himself in a similar situation to Jokic, but on a higher scale. The Thunder selected Topic with the 12th overall pick.

In May 2024, Topic suffered a torn ACL while playing for his original club. The contending Thunder were comfortable allowing Topic to spend what would have been his rookie season recovering from ACL surgery.

Although he wasn’t part of the action, Topic was on hand for the Thunder’s 2025 NBA championship. He gained valuable experience as a first-year NBA player, experience not every player gets.

The Thunder hoped Topic would be clear of his ACL surgery by the start of the season. Instead, he was ruled out for four to six weeks after undergoing a separate procedure. The subject would end up missing several months of action. He was assigned to the Thunder’s G League team in early February.

On February 12, Topic finally debuted with Thunder. He checked in on the bench for 12 minutes. The Serbian guard scored two points, while grabbing a rebound and producing an assist.

Heading into the game against the Nuggets, Topic has five games under his belt. He averages 3.2 points, 2.0 assists and 1.6 rebounds. The Thunder’s first-rounder is shooting 43 percent from the field and hitting 1.0 threes per game at a 40 percent rate.

Oklahoma City and Denver will be notified at 9:30 p.m. ET on February 27.

Justin Grasso Justin Grasso is an NBA reporter who covers league news, transactions, injuries and player developments. He is a credentialed journalist with nearly a decade of privileged access. Learn more about Justin Grasso