Mostly running it back, one of the new players the Oklahoma City Thunder will add in their NBA championship reign is a recently selected lottery pick — Nikola Topic. He made unique league history by being the first player to receive a ring before he suited up in uniform.

Of course, if you ask Topic, he’d rather be known for more than just a fun, trivial fact that a future episode of ‘Jeopardy!’ will ask. He will get the chance to do that in the 2025-26 regular season as he returns from a torn ACL. He missed all of last year rehabbing the knee injury.

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Topic took the first step toward that on Monday. He participated in the 2025-26 Media Day. Of course, everybody wants to know how excited he is for his first training camp.

“Like I said, just to be able to play with these guys who are great,” Topic said. “Just to be a part of the team now. It feels amazing.”

It’ll be interesting to see how the Thunder handle Topic’s development. Usually, NBA champions are full of players in their prime and veteran players. Seldom do you see them bring in a lottery talent. But that’s what OKC will have to do in a unique situation.

Two players who could make the transition easy for Topic are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that playing alongside two All-NBA players will make it easier for him. Especially since his strength is as a passer. The 20-year-old laid out the blueprint of how he could help.

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“Obviously, it’s amazing to be in the same locker room as them, like everybody else. But I think I help them maybe like get the ball up the court or something like that,” Topic said. “And just make some passes, get defense off their backs, like try to get attention to some other way. Try to free them up.”

Even with a torn ACL, Topic still went in the lottery. He was the No. 12 pick of the 2024 NBA draft. There’s no question that the playmaking and size are tantalizing, but how he’s given room to grow while still winning games will be a delicate dance the Thunder must master.

“Everybody has something to say and some advice that they can give,” Topic said. “So I’m excited to get to know them, to try to make them better and just to try to help my team get as many wins as we can get.”

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Nikola Topic explains how he can help Thunder in 2025-26 season