Despite bringing back almost every player from the championship-winning squad, the Thunder will add a former first-rounder who’s ready for his first minutes.

Nikola Topic, Oklahoma City Thunder’s first-round draft pick in 2024, will participate in his first training camp this month, returning from a partially torn ACL in his left knee he suffered almost a year and a half ago.

Topic is ready to join the team on the court that he won a championship with last season, but he said he’s ready to get to work, finally, as a member of the Thunder.

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

“Just to be part of the team now, it’s amazing.”

Topic had a long road to the stage where he is now – ready to contribute on a championship-winning team.

Topic suffered his knee injury last May and sat the entire 2024-25 season because of it, though, he said he learned a lot sitting for all of last season and it would’ve been more fun had he been on the court for the win.

“It was amazing to be part of that, but it would probably be even better just if I played,” Topic said. “It was an amazing experience and (can take away that) just to stay positive, believe in ourselves, in the team and trust.”

Topic’s teammates, including veteran guard Alex Caruso, guided him through what was a long season for Topic, even though it ended with a ring.

Caruso said Topic can take away a lot of great lessons from a season-long absence, even if it’s learning how to be a pro.

“I think the great thing about him is that it’s kind of a blessing in disguise,” Caruso said. “You get hurt like that at such a young age because you kind of learn the discipline of being a professional through that trial. Just to be able to come back from an injury of that nature, it takes a lot of discipline, it takes a lot of focus.

“So that part of it I think is engrained in him and will be great. Just giving him the confidence and trying to help him learn through the fire. That’s really what it is.”

Topic started basketball activities once 2025 began and ramped up toward playing in the NBA’s Summer League – where he dominated.

Topic played six games in Summer League, averaging 19.8 points, 5.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game, shooting 46.9% from the field. Throughout his short playing time, Topic displayed his ball-dominant presence as a guard and flashed his playmaking abilities that got him drafted so high.

Topic is a 6-foot-6 point guard that can do it all on the court, which is why plenty of Thunder fans are excited for Topic’s development in the future.

Topic said he learned a lot through the Summer League on and off the court.

“It did a lot of good things,” Topic said. “Just to play the game that I love, it was pretty amazing. It was weird at first. It was like, ‘what do I do now? Do I sleep? Do I eat? When do I do stuff? Do I take a nap?’ But later on it was better and I think it will only get better.”

Even though Topic is one of the youngest and inexperienced players on the Thunder roster, he is mentoring OKC’s newest member.

Thomas Sorber, the Thunder’s first-round pick this season, tore his ACL in his right knee this summer and will miss the entire upcoming season, exactly like Topic last season.

Topic said he’s been giving Sorber advice on how to handle the upcoming season and reflected on some of his circumstances last year.

“I gave him, obviously, some encouraging stuff and we’ll talk more later,” Topic said. “I told him it’d be the 40th game of the season and you’ll be like ‘When will I be back?’ It’s too boring now to be on the sidelines, but you’ll get through it, you just have to find somebody to talk to like friends, family, whoever it is, it will make life easier.”

Where does Topic fit in a lineup that won the championship and brought a majority of the roster back?

Time will tell, said Thunder general manager Sam Presti.

Presti said it will depend on where Topic is at entering camp and where he can find his way with the clean slate the Thunder is beginning the season with.

“We look at every year as a blank canvas, and if we didn’t, we wouldn’t have discovered or figured out a lot of different ways to win,” Presti said. “So with respect to Topic, we just have to see where he is, how the team performs, where the combinations are and not overreact when things are not smooth immediately, with any players.”