Thunder coach Mark Daigneault offers rehab update on Nikola Topić
Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said this week that rookie Nikola Topić is currently on track in his rehabilitation from offseason surgery to repair a torn left ACL.
Topić suffered the non-contact injury with Crvena zvezda last season on May 13 against Partizan in Game 1 of the ABA League Finals. He underwent surgery on July 24 and was ruled out of playing for the entire season by the Thunder.
The 19-year-old has attacked his recovery daily and continues to reach various benchmarks in his return to the court. He is impressing his teammates and coaches in the process.
"He is on track with everything he is supposed to be doing on the timeline that he should be on," Daigneault said. "He has done a really impressive job of keeping his head down. As a basketball player, he has gone a long time without playing games, and that is tough, especially when you're a rookie. You want to establish yourself in the NBA and test yourself, and he probably wants to know what translates and what doesn't."
Topić was the 12th pick in the NBA draft after averaging 15.1 points, 5.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds on 50.5% shooting from the field last season. He was the ABA League Top Prospect, joining Nikola Jokić, Goga Bitadze and Nikola Jović as past award recipients.
The 6-foot-6 guard began playing professionally in Serbia at 16 years old. He is highly touted for the size he brings to the next level and his offensive ability. He projects to eventually develop into a starting-caliber guard with the Thunder once he is cleared to play.
Topić thanked the team for drafting him following the injury. He has committed to improving throughout his recovery and appears to be off to a good start with the organization.
"He has been very consistent with his work and has shown a great level of professionalism, maturity and work ethic through this time," Daigneault said. "He is very, very steady, both in his approach and mentally. He has been very impressive in that way. As he continues to uptick what he can do, that is exciting. He is a really good player that has made a very, very strong first impression with his approach to his rehab."
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