The Oklahoma City Thunder are one win away from their first NBA championship in team history. The Thunder have the most complete roster in the NBA while also being the youngest team in the playoffs. There is still plenty of development in store for the OKC Thunder who could very well capture the hardwood in this series.
In the midst of these Finals, it’s hard not to think about the lottery pick waiting in the wings for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Nikola Topic was considered a top-five talent in the 2024 NBA Draft before tearing his ACL ahead of last year’s June draft.
Now, Topic has spent an entire season rehabbing as he redshirts a year in the same vein as Chet Holmgren who missed the entire 2022-23 campaign after suffering a Lisfranc fracture during a pro-am game in August 2022.
Mark Daigneault was bombarded with questions about Topic’s rehabilitation before Game 5, which the THunder won 120-109 to take a 3-2 series lead in the NBA Finals.
“It’s hard to say right now. We obviously saw him in the draft. He’s exciting when you watch him on film. As far as what he’s doing right now, he’s still x time post-surgery. He’s still back to performing. I don’t think he’s the player right now that he’ll be in training camp,” Daigneault said.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have already been impressed with Topic as he continues to make progress toward a return.
“The most impressive thing about him is he’s incredibly young, he’s in the United States for the first time, in the NBA for the first time, coming off a long-term injury and he’s been incredibly consistent, mature and professional in his approach. When you watch someone go through that, you can learn a lot about him. They’re part of the team but they’re disconnected in a lot of ways. He hasn’t traveled on most of our trips, and he’s at arm’s length. has inserted himself into the mix in a very appropriate way. The guys really respect the way he approaches things. He’s way beyond his years and that bodes very well for him no matter where he starts as a player on the field, and he’s been very impressive with that.
The Thunder’s first chance to get a glimpse of Topic is next month’s NBA Summer League, if the 2024 NBA Draft pick plays into the event he becomes must-see TV in Oklahoma City.
