After 596 days in the league, he finally made his career debut.

The Thunder lost their 14th home game to the Bucks and fell to second place in the league for the first time this season after being overtaken by the Pistons. Yet today, the Thunder’s home crowd was especially thrilled because their 24-year-old 12th draft pick, Topić, was finally about to step onto the NBA court.

Midway through the first quarter, Topić was brought in, prompting the Thunder’s home fans to stand and cheer loudly for a long time. On his first possession, Topić assisted Jerlin in completing a layup, demonstrating his still impressive passing technique.

In the second quarter, Topić initiated an attack from the top of the key, using Chet’s screen to stop and shoot a jump shot, scoring his first points in the NBA. This sparked the loudest cheer of the entire game from the Thunder’s home crowd. Topić played only 12 minutes in the whole game, recording 2 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist, but he had waited a full 596 days for this moment.

On June 27, 2024, the Thunder selected Serbian guard Nikola Topić with the 12th overall pick in the draft. Standing 1.98 meters tall with a 2.13-meter wingspan, Topić possesses the prototypical size of a combo guard.

He is ambidextrous, excels in ball handling and passing, and shows a maturity beyond his years. His basketball IQ is very high, and he plays with creativity and great finesse. At a young age, he has already earned the nickname "the next European magician."

Offensively, Topić finishes well near the rim, but his mid-to-long range shooting remains inconsistent. His height gives him a natural mismatch advantage at the guard position, though his physical attributes are average. Before the draft, he was projected as a potential top-five pick, but recurring knee injuries caused his stock to drop significantly.

During joint workouts, Topić was diagnosed with a torn ACL, effectively ending his rookie season before it began and further lowering his draft value. After all, who would pick someone 12th overall who wouldn’t play for an entire year? Surprisingly, the Thunder took that chance, willing to gamble on him since they had plenty of draft assets and did not urgently need immediate first-round contributions.

Thus, Topić spent his entire rookie season recovering from injury without playing a single game, yet he still earned an NBA championship ring when the season ended. In a way, he holds a record that few can match.

Topić’s real debut came during this year’s Summer League, where he played six games averaging 27.3 minutes, 10.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.8 steals, and 4.7 turnovers, shooting just 33.3% from the field and 20.8% from three-point range. Honestly, his performance was quite poor; whether playing point guard or other roles, he seemed completely unadjusted to the pace of the game here.

But after all, it was only Summer League, and adaptation is more important than stats. Just as fans were hoping for better performances in the regular season, bad news struck: in October, Topić was diagnosed with testicular cancer, indefinitely delaying his career debut once again.

Although testicular cancer has a very high cure rate—Nene was previously diagnosed with it and resumed life normally after surgery—the treatment forced Topić to step away from the court once more. Fortunately, he was only sidelined for four months this time.

After undergoing removal of one testicle and three rounds of chemotherapy, Topić returned to training as soon as possible. His hair was completely gone, and his body appeared significantly heavier compared to last summer, possibly due to the treatment. He first scored 22 points in a G League game, and then today officially stepped onto an NBA court.

From the draft to his NBA debut, Topić’s journey has been nothing short of extraordinary: a dreaded ACL tear that terrifies NBA players, missing an entire season but still winning a championship, and battling cancer with surgery and chemotherapy. To reach this day, Topić has overcome countless hardships.

After Topić’s cancer diagnosis, the Thunder still exercised their team option for the next season. This resilient European guard, having faced so many trials, remains a player the Thunder are willing to patiently wait for.