Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2024 first-round pick, Nikola Topic, made a remarkable return to professional basketball on Monday night, debuting in the G League after battling testicular cancer.
The 12th overall pick, 20-year-old Serbian point guard Topic, contributed seven points and seven assists in 16 minutes for the Oklahoma City Blue, helping secure a 137-135 overtime victory.
This debut follows a challenging period after he missed his rookie season due to an ACL tear before the draft, and was then diagnosed with cancer in October, leading to him undergoing chemotherapy.
Blue head coach Daniel Dixon commented postgame: “There was probably a ton of emotions that he was going through.
“Having something taken away from you that you loved from a young age cannot be easy, and so, just to see his resilience and him to know that the whole organisation is behind him, we’re pushing him forward.
“Just seeing him crack a smile while being out there on the court again, doing what he enjoys doing, what he loves to do, being out there with his teammates. I mean, there was so many positive things.”
Topic is yet to feature in a regular-season game for the Thunder, but making his G League debut is a pivotal step in his recovery.
A return to the senior side could still be some way off, but Topic would be rejoining a team that is flying in the NBA.
The Thunder picked up an impressive 119-110 win at the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night to maintain their sizeable lead at the top of the Western Conference.
Oklahoma have won 41 of their 54 games this season, and will be back in action in search of another victory on Wednesday night when they travel to the Phoenix Suns before hosting the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night.
