Nikola Topic

Topic's basketball story has been defined by nearly everything except basketball. Oklahoma City took the Serbian playmaker 12th in 2024 knowing a torn ACL would erase his first season — and he still collected a championship ring in 2025 as one of the youngest titlists ever, a spectator on the sport's biggest stage. A testicular cancer diagnosis then delayed his actual debut until February 2026 against Milwaukee. Across a handful of games he offered only a glimpse, a few points and assists in short minutes. Scouts still like the frame and the passing feel — a big lead guard who sees the floor a beat ahead — but two lost years mean the real evaluation essentially starts now. For a player who has overcome this much, the runway matters more than the early box scores.