ORLANDO — Could the Orlando Magic get lucky with the 18th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft and get a player who was once projected as a top-10 pick? A mock draft thinks so.
Serbian guard Nikola Topic tore his ACL at the NBA Combine, but ESPN, The Ringer, Bleacher Report and six of CBS’s seven draft experts have Topic projected somewhere between 10th and 13th, with one exception moving him as high as No. 4. In other words, all of this is out of reach for the Magic.
If the 6-foot-7 Serbian guard fails, a CBS draft nik sees Topić arriving at the Magic. Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer He also singled out Orlando as Topić’s home turf and highlighted the impact of the Magic having Nikola’s father, Milenko Topić, as a scout in their front office.
“League officials don’t expect him to fall that low and have pinned a potential backstop for Topić at No. 18 in Orlando, since the Magic hired Topić’s father, Milenko Topić, a former Serbian head coach, as the team’s new coach last season, league sources said.”
Nikola spoke about his father’s role and how he has enjoyed his time so far with the Magic.
“He didn’t really enjoy coaching,” Nikola told Yahoo Sports. “That scouting job, he really enjoys traveling and watching players.”
Nikola, 18, averaged 18.6 points and 6.9 assists in 13 games for Mega BG in the ABA League. He shot 65.4 percent from inside the arc and around the basket, but only 28.8 percent from 3-point range.
If the Magic believe in Topic and are willing to wait, it will give them positional size and a playmaker to potentially pair with Jalen Suggs. Topic’s passing ability could help generate easier opportunities for an offense that ranked 24th in points per game last season and was among the NBA’s worst teams in three-point shooting.
The first round of the NBA Draft begins Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
