THE Oklahoma City Thunder was looking to sign a player who was thousands of miles away and had no timetable for returning from injury.
Luckily, they knew someone who had been there before.
Vassilije Micic is originally from Kraljevo, Serbia, just a few hours from his hometown Nikola Subject‘s – the Thunder’s 12th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft – in Novi Sad, Serbia. Micic also briefly played for the Thunder during the 2023-24 season before being traded to the Charlotte Hornets in February.
“We spent a lot of time talking to Vass about this player,” Presti said. “He was a very insightful person about this particular player, really.”
However, distance is not the only aspect that brought Micic and Topic closer.
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Micic has proven he can win at the professional level and has been a two-time Euroleague champion, but the game hasn’t always been kind to the 6-foot-9, 185-pound playmaker. After turning professional at 16, the same age as Topic, Micic suffered a season-ending knee injury during his second season with the Serbian League.
“Vass had a similar injury early on,” Presti said. “But he has a great basketball mind, and being able to talk to him about what a player of that age goes through was important from an empathetic standpoint.”
Topic is currently in the same position Micic was in over a decade ago – somewhat new to the professional basketball scene and injured – and after receiving this diagnosis, there has been no set timetable for what he returns after a partial ACL tear on the left. knee in April.
The Thunder were willing to take a risk because of the young player’s basketball IQ and personality on and off the court, and it was Micic who helped OKC see that.
“Nikola is an extremely mature person,” Presti said. “If you talk to his teammates or watch him around the team … as a person, he’s really interesting in terms of how he views teams, basketball, competition and learning. At that age, that’s pretty rare. “And when you know someone as well as Micic, it’s a very useful tool.”
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Although the relationship with Micic and OKC seemingly ended when he was traded to Charlotte for Gordon HaywardThe veteran helped the organization see that it was possible to navigate life and basketball after an injury early in a player’s career.
“In talking to Vass, I asked him specifically about an injury at that age,” Presti said. “We asked him questions like, ‘What was it like and how could we put ourselves in this position?’ »
Although nationality was originally what linked the two players, it was Micic’s advice regarding age and injuries that allowed the Thunder to put everything into perspective when making their decision on game night. draft.
“Obviously Vass is Serbian, so he knows him,” Presti said. “But I think having that perspective of him as a foreign player and being injured at the same time and at the same moment was very valuable for us.”
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