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What Thunder said about Nikola Topic and his torn ACL progress
What Thunder said about Nikola Topic and his torn ACL progress
Knocking down turnaround 3-pointers, excitement continues to build around Nikola Topic. While the Oklahoma City Thunder are a win away from a championship with a 3-2 2025 NBA Finals series lead over the Indiana Pacers, the 19-year-old has other events circled on his calendar.
Well over a year since he partially tore his ACL in May 2024, Topic could be on the verge of his NBA debut. He'll likely be back for the 2025 Summer League in July. That gives the Thunder at least one player to keep an eye on during the multi-week event.
Topic has rehabbed his torn ACL during the 2024-25 season. He served a redshirt season that helped the Thunder land him with the No. 12 pick of the 2024 NBA draft. Before that, the tall playmaker was talked about as a possible top-five pick.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault discussed Topic's progress before they collected a 120-109 Game 5 win over the Pacers. He's had a chance to get a frontrow view of a title contender and how to carry himself around as an NBA player.
"It's hard to tell right now. We obviously saw him in the draft. He's exciting when you watch him on film. In terms of what he's doing right now, he's still X amount of time post-op. He's still return-to-performance. I don't think he's the player right now that he will be in training camp," Daigneault said. "The thing that's most impressive about him to see is he's incredibly young, he's stateside for the first time, in the NBA for the first time, coming off a long-term injury and he's been unbelievably consistent and mature and professional in his approach.
To tear your ACL a month before the draft could be catastrophic for most prospects. Especially somebody as young as Topic. It could cost you millions as you slide down teams' boards. But Daigneault has been impressed with his mental fortitude.
"When you watch somebody go through that, you can learn a lot about them. They are part of the team but they are disconnected in a lot of ways. He didn't travel on most of our trips, and he's an arm's length away a lot of the time. Yet he again approached that with great poise and professionalism," Daigneault said. "Inserted himself into the mix in a very appropriate way. The guys really respect the way that he approaches things. He's an old soul. He's way beyond his years and so that bodes really well for him, regardless where he starts as a player on the court. That stuff translates, and he's been very impressive with that."
Even though the Thunder had a historic 68-14 regular season and are on the doorstep of an NBA championship, Topic could help fix their backup ball-handler role. That's been a struggle OKC has overcome for most of the year but could be solved with Topic's talents.
