OKLAHOMA CITY — Nikola Subject made his NBA debut Thursday night for the Thunder and scored his first points after undergoing treatment for testicular cancer.
The Serbian guard was the 12th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. He missed all of last season due to a knee injury he suffered before the draft and did not play this season after being diagnosed with cancer during the preseason. He had surgery in October, then underwent chemotherapy and got back into shape.
He entered Thursday’s match against the Milwaukee Bucks at the end of the first quarter and received a loud ovation. He scored his only points on a jumper near the free throw line early in the second quarter. He finished with two points, a rebound and an assist in a 110-93 defeat.
“I’m just thrilled for him,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
“He’s obviously been through a lot of adversity in his life the last couple of years. He’s a young man that all he wants to do is play basketball and that’s been taken away from him multiple times, so for him to work to this point, to put himself on the court is a big accomplishment. … Definitely a really good feel-good night for his family, for him and for our team despite the fact that we didn’t play our best game.”
Daigneault stressed that Topic is still in the early stages of returning to “full playing form.”
“It was like a unique pocket to bring him into our team with very little expectations from a performance standpoint,” the coach said.
“We’re just happy he came out tonight and is back on that track. That’s the most important thing.”
Topic had seven points and seven assists in 16 minutes for the Thunder’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, in a 137-135 overtime victory over the Sioux Falls Skyforce on Monday night.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
