By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]
With both teams missing key players, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, who remained sidelined during the Milwaukee Bucks suffering from a strained right calf, French forward Ousmane Dieng recorded his first career double-double against his former team, Oklahoma City Thunder. His performance helped the Deer win 110-93 at Paycom Center.
Beyond the one-way ending to Thursday’s game, the highlight was the NBA debut of Serbian guard Nikola Topic after returning from a mission with the G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.
The 12th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft presented by State Farm had already missed the ThunderThe race for the 2024-2025 championship due to a torn ACL. He was ready to begin his 2025-2026 journey before being diagnosed with testicular cancer during the preseason. His first appearance was greeted with a standing ovation from fans and players on the field, drawing significant post-match praise.
A standing ovation for Nikola Topić 👏
The 12th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft makes his NBA debut for the @okcthunder This evening!
Tap to watch: https://t.co/H43cOyWuWn pic.twitter.com/J72f4kQMiN
-NBA (@NBA) February 13, 2026
In 12:22 of play, Topic, 20, scored two points on 1/3 shooting, an assist and a rebound, and also committed three turnovers.
“He is in the early stages of returning to full playing fitness,” noted head coach Mark Daigneault during a post-game press conference. “What chemotherapy does to your body is truly remarkable. It’s amazing what it does to you physically. The road back is different for everyone, and it’s very difficult.”
“I never want to try to say that I can fully understand or empathize with everything he went through,” » added his teammate Chet Holmgren. “With my situation, I was fighting to get my career back. Anyone battling cancer is fighting for their life, and I could never understand what that was like.”
A former Thunder player during his first four NBA years, Dieng, 22, started for the Bucks. Finishing with 19 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, four blocks and a steal, he pushed his new team to 23-30 and dropped the hosts to 42-14 in the regular season before the All-Star break.
While Greek Freak remained on the injury report, his brother Alex remained with the Wisconsin Herd, but Thanasis grabbed a rebound in 3:10.
For the Thunder, Germany’s Isaiah Hartenstein (managing a right soleus injury) was ruled out, while Belgium’s Ajay Mitchell (abdominal strain) missed his 11th consecutive game.
