Oklahoma City General Manager Sam Presti revealed As of Thursday, second-year guard Nikola Topic is suffering from testicular cancer and doctors are “extremely positive about his outlook.”
The topic has been posted since the start of the season and throughout most of the preseason. The team announced during training camp that he would undergo testicular surgery, but details of the surgery were not immediately made clear.
According to Presti, the procedure was necessary to determine whether Topic was dealing with a case of testicular cancer, with the subsequent biopsy later confirming that he indeed was.
He added that Topic had started chemotherapy, as recommended by his oncologist. During his treatment, Topic has remained with the team, training and training, but there is no timetable for his return.
“Our only expectation of him is to focus on that. That’s the most important priority,” Presti said. “He’ll come back and play basketball when he’s able to, but we obviously don’t expect anything from that. He has all of our support and encouragement and love.”
Topic was drafted by the Thunder 12th overall in 2024, but has yet to be selected for an NBA regular season game. He suffered a partial ACL tear in January 2024 while playing for Red Star Belgrade in Serbia and was expected to join the Thunder in 2025-26 after missing his entire rookie year.
He played in the team’s first preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets in early October, his first NBA experience, and finished with 10 points, four rebounds and seven assists in 31 minutes.
