Nikola Topić returned to NBA action Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers and logged 12 minutes in Oklahoma City’s latest look at its rookie guard. He made one shot in two attempts and finished with two points, two rebounds and two assists.
Topić, the 12th pick in the 2024 NBA draft, also ran the point guard for the entire fourth quarter. That came after his first NBA appearance before Thursday, on Feb. 25 against the Detroit Pistons, when he had four assists, two rebounds and no points in 16 minutes.
After that game, the Thunder sent Topić to the G League’s OKC Blue for heavy reps as a creator, and he answered with a 13-game stint that included 11 starts. He averaged 18.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 55.2% overall and 46.5% from three-point range on 3.3 attempts per game, even as he turned the ball over 2.9 times a night.
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His start to the NBA season has been the opposite of perfect. Topić tore his ACL late in the draft cycle, then missed extended time before getting those Blue minutes as multiple Thunder players returned from injury. In six NBA appearances this season, he has averaged 3.0 points, 2.0 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 10.8 minutes per game.
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He now has five more games to get used to NBA speed before the playoffs begin and rotations shrink. Thursday was a small step, but for Topić it was a real one: back on the floor, back in the fourth quarter, and back in the part of the season where every minute starts to count.
