OKC Thunder draft pick Nikola Topic 'ready' to recover from ACL injury

Nikola Topic showed no signs of discomfort as he walked through the OKC Contemporary Arts Center for his introductory press conference Saturday.

The No. 12 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft sat at a table with his fellow rookies and Thunder general manager Sam Presti. He then walked around the room, answering questions from the media and speaking briefly with head coach Mark Daigneault.

It was an encouraging sight for Topic, who suffered a partially torn ACL earlier this month while playing with Basketball League Red Star of Serbia. Still, it will be a while before the 18-year-old guard suits up for OKC.

Topic confirmed Saturday that he will undergo ACL surgery this summer. He is expected to miss all of next season.

“It’s bad, but there’s a lot of good things in it,” Topic said of his injury-related absence. “I’ll be able to see in a year what the NBA is and how it lives here. … For sure, I’ll be better prepared to play in a year.”

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This is not the first time Topic has been sidelined due to injury.

Topic suffered a left knee injury in January and missed four months of competition in the Adriatic League because of it. He returned in late April and played three matches, but suffered a partial torn anterior cruciate ligament in the same knee during the Adriatic League playoff finals.

The second injury affected Topic’s stock, which fell to OKC at No. 12 despite being projected by many as a top-five talent in his class.

Fortunately, the 2.08m rear landed in a franchise that has experience in this type of situation. After OKC selected Chet Holmgren with the second overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, the 2.18m forward suffered a Lisfranc injury during the offseason that forced him to miss the entire 2022-23 campaign.

Holmgren watched from the sidelines and bounced back last season. He played in all 92 games, including the playoffs, and finished second in rookie of the year voting with averages of 16.5 points and 7.9 rebounds.

Topic said he hasn’t had a chance to speak with Holmgren about the experience yet, but he hopes to have a similar journey.

“I’m really grateful that they have experience with Chet, who didn’t play his freshman year,” Topic said. “I’m really, really grateful for the opportunity, and I’m going to do my best to do my best and be the best version of myself.”

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OKC is also optimistic about Topic’s situation after doing extensive research ahead of the draft.

The NBA and the players’ association have agreed to a new set of rules for the NBA draft in April 2023. One of those rules gives league-wide access to each prospect’s physicals, which include medical history and biomechanical and functional movement testing.

That allowed OKC to review imaging of Topic’s knee. The Thunder also brought in Donnie Strack, its director of medical services, to visit Topic and examine him in person.

With that knowledge and the experience gained while dealing with Holmgren’s injury last season, Presti and his team felt confident enough to select Topic on draft night.

“Everything we’ve seen is — I don’t want to say appropriate, but we’re comfortable with it,” Presti said of Topic’s injury. “We’re approaching this with a lot of optimism. … Our experience with Chet and the time we spent with him in his first year was certainly a factor in how we viewed this opportunity, and I think that we learned some things in this case.”

Once Topic is healthy, he should bring a lot to OKC.

Topic is an oversized guard with great passing skills, and he can also finish well around the rim. He will, however, need to improve as a 3-point shooter and find ways to impact the defense.

But for now, Topic is focusing on his health and soaking up everything he can on the sidelines.

“I try to see the positive things,” Topic said. “It will definitely be a lot of work and very mentally tough, but I think I’m ready.”

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