The OKC Thunder may have emerged from the 2025 NBA Draft as the consensus winner after winning a young prospect in shape in Thomas Sorber and a Swiss army knife talent in Brooks Barnhizer, but the player they should be most excited to debut during the 2025-26 campaign isn’t technically a newcomer at all.
After redshirting his entire rookie year with a torn ACL, Nikola Topic finally appears ready to showcase his talents by donning the blue, orange and yellow, and fans will get the chance to see his first in-game action as a member of the organization next week during the NBA Summer League.
Nikola Topic will be a must-see Thunder during the NBA Summer League
A top prospect, the Serbian-born point guard has been rated as a potential number one option ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft thanks to his size (6-foot-6) mixed with his overall playing style on the floor.
Add that to his per-game production that has seen him average 16.0 points, 6.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds across all stops in the 2023-24 season with Mega MIS and Crvena zvezda, and it’s no surprise that the international prodigy has generated such buzz.
However, due to his knee injury, Topic saw himself slide considerably on draft night, ultimately falling into Oklahoma City’s lap at 12th overall and, in turn, offering Sam Presti and company probably the biggest theft 2024 festivities.
Although he may not have been able to see any real action during his first year in the association, in training sessions and behind closed doors, the 19-year-old still managed to impress his coaching staff and peers, with Luguentz Dort specifically stating publicly gush about the particularity of a contributor he expects the topic to be for the Thunder.
On top of that, he enters his *rookie season with first-hand knowledge of what it takes for a team to win a championship, as he has been fully immersed in OKC’s title race during the 2024-25 season. He even became the first player in history to win an NBA championship before registering for a single minute in the association.
Even without spending any time on the field, a year after being selected in the lottery, Nikola Topic is a player who has a lot of hype attached to his name.
The first time he’ll be able to give fans a taste of what he’s capable of in Thunder Threads will be over a three-day span, July 5-8 in Salt Lake City, before heading to the Las Vegas Summer Leaguewhich is scheduled for July 10 to 20.
