Nikola Subjectlong considered a likely lottery pick in the 2024 draft, has been diagnosed with a partially torn ACL, agent Misko Raznatovic confirmed at ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
Topic is among the prospects currently attending the NBA International Draft in Treviso, Italy, for players who were unable to make it to last month’s draft in Chicago. This week’s international combine includes a medical exam – including imaging – for all participants, which confirmed the 6’7” guard’s diagnosis.
Inasmuch as early participant In this year’s draft class, Topic has until June 16 to decide whether or not he wants to keep his name in the pool. According to Givony, the Serbian point guard is expected to travel to the United States in the coming days, where he will be evaluated by NBA team doctors and develop a treatment plan, including possible surgery.
For what it’s worth, Raznatovic told Givony that he doesn’t think the injury will have a significant impact on Topic’s stock due to his age (19 in August) and early feedback from U.S. doctors who examined his MRIs. Those doctors said the knee’s stability was “in excellent condition,” according to Raznatovic.
Although it’s hard to imagine an NBA franchise being so enthusiastic about using a lottery pick on a player suffering from an injury that could cause him to miss part or all of his rookie season , Topic’s recovery timeline could be accelerated if doctors determine that reconstructive surgery is not necessary. it’s not necessary.
Teams selected in the top 15 will be guaranteed to receive medical information from Topic, notes Givony, due to a rule change in the new ABC. It would be up to Topic’s representatives to decide whether they want to share his medicals with teams outside the top 15.
As Givony writes, Topic initially injured his left knee in January while playing for Red Star in Serbia. He returned to action in late April, but played only three Adriatic League matches before re-injuring his knee. The number 9 player of the The big picture ESPN 2024Topic was excellent when healthy in 2023/24, averaging 18.6 points and 6.9 assists per game for Mega Basket and Crvena Zvezda, according to Givony.
