In late June, the Oklahoma City Thunder used their 12th overall pick to select 19-year-old point guard Nikola Topic in the draft lottery. When Oklahoma City officials handed out the draft card, they understood that the talented point guard would likely miss his entire rookie season.
Topic suffered two knee injuries last season, including a partially torn ACL just weeks before the draft. Once considered a top-five talent in this class, his draft-day fall was predictable when the prospect of a redshirt season loomed.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are no strangers to redshirt seasons, even since Nick Collison, but more recently with rising star Chet Holmgren. The 2.13m player suffered a Lisfrac fracture in August ahead of the 2022-23 season, causing him to miss the entire campaign. When the Gonzaga product returned to the court in 2023-24, he helped the boys from Bricktown reach first place.
That accomplishment made the Thunder more confident going into the 2024 NBA Draft with the knowledge and experience to maximize a redshirt year.
On Tuesday, the team announced that Topić successfully underwent surgery to treat a torn left ACL. The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache at the Kerlan Jobe Institute in Los Angeles with the Thunder medical staff in attendance. Topić is expected to miss the 2024-25 season as part of his rehabilitation process.
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