Oklahoma City Thunder guard Nikola Topić made his NBA debut on Thursday, months after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in October 2025.
Topić scored two points and recorded one rebound and one assist in 12 minutes as the Thunder lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, 110-93. He received a standing ovation from the home crowd at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City when he checked into the game with 1:55 remaining in the first quarter and OKC trailing, 27-23.
Topić, a native of Novi Sad, Serbia, was selected by the Thunder with the 12th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. He missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury.
After playing one preseason game in October, Topić was diagnosed with testicular cancer after he underwent a procedure at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer among males aged 15 to 35, affecting about one in every 250 people, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Fortunately, “the prognosis for testicular cancer is excellent,” with more than 95% of cases being treated successfully, per the Clinic.
“He’s obviously been through a ton of adversity in his life in the last couple years,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said Thursday. “He’s a young guy that all he wants to do is play basketball and that’s been taken from him a couple of different times, and so for him to work himself to this point, get himself on the floor is a great accomplishment. … [It’s] certainly a really good feel-good night for his family, for him and for our team despite the fact that we didn’t play our best game.
“We’re just happy he got out there tonight and is on that track back. That’s the most important thing,” he added.