Nikola Topić, right, converses with Jared McCain during Thursday’s game. Zach Beeker / Getty Images
OKLAHOMA CITY — Nikola Topić’s journey to his first NBA game was a long and winding road full of unexpected twists and turns, but he didn’t waste much time giving Oklahoma City Thunder fans something to cheer about in his debut on Thursday night.
The Thunder drafted Topić with the 12th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, knowing that a partially torn left ACL would force him to miss his entire first season. After he played in the team’s first preseason game of the 2025-26 season, Oklahoma City announced Topić would need a testicular procedure, which the team announced as testicular cancer a few weeks later. That kept him sidelined for the start of the season until he made his G-League debut on Monday, setting the stage for his debut in Oklahoma City.
With 1:55 left in the first quarter of Thursday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the 6-foot-6, 20-year-old entered to a standing ovation from the home crowd.
“Just thrilled for him,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after Thursday’s 110-93 loss to the Bucks. “He’s obviously been through a ton of adversity in his life the last couple years. He’s a young guy that all he wants to do is play basketball and that’s been taken from him a couple different times. For him to work himself to this point, get himself on the floor is a great accomplishment. I loved watching the team respond to him both during and after the game.”
On his first play, Topić found Jaylin Williams flashing into the middle of the lane for a floater, which became Topić’s first NBA assist.
2 years in the making…
The first assist of Nikola Topić’s NBA career 🔥 https://t.co/ALf3HYZifV pic.twitter.com/tp60wxSdXx
— NBA (@NBA) February 13, 2026
A few minutes later, Topić made his first basket on a mid-range, pull-up jumper with nine minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Nikola Topić scores his first career NBA bucket ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/xYT1kNLHvg
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 13, 2026
Topić ended up playing 12 minutes in his debut, grabbing a rebound in addition to his early assist and bucket. He also committed three turnovers.
Feb 13, 2026
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