{"id":603480,"date":"2026-02-14T22:11:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T22:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/603480\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T22:11:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T22:11:50","slug":"nikola-topic-available-for-okc-thunder-after-cancer-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/603480\/","title":{"rendered":"Nikola Topi\u0107 available for OKC Thunder after cancer diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTHIS TO MOVE OUT. COMING UP BACK TO YOU. ALL RIGHT. SOUNDS GOOD. DAMON. THANK YOU. NOW TO YOUR NEXT TOP FIVE IN OKLAHOMA CITY. THUNDER PLAYER SIDELINED BY INJURY AND CANCER. COULD MAKE HIS REGULAR SEASON DEBUT TONIGHT, NEARLY TWO YEARS AFTER HE WAS DRAFTED. NIKOLA TOPIC HAS AN INSPIRING STORY, AND, WE SHOULD SAY, A LOT OF TALENT ON THE COURT. KOCO SPORTS ANCHOR HANNAH HOOVER JOINS US LIVE FROM THE PAYCOM CENTER. HANNAH. HE\u2019S IN TONIGHT, WE BELIEVE, BUT SOME KEY STARTERS ARE OUT. INSPIRATIONAL IS THE WORD FOR THIS. NIKOLA. TOPIC IS AVAILABLE TONIGHT TO MAKE HIS NBA DEBUT AGAINST THE MILWAUKEE BUCKS. INSPIRING. HEARTWARMING. ALL OF THE WORDS YOU CAN POSSIBLY THINK OF FOR THE YOUNG GUY WHO WAS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER IN OCTOBER OF 2025, WENT THROUGH THREE ROUNDS OF CHEMO BUT CONTINUED TO PRACTICE AND WORK OUT TO STAY IN SHAPE. IN ORDER TO PLAY. THIS WEEK, HE PLAYED FOR THE OKC BLUE IN 17 MINUTES, HE LOGGED OFF THE BENCH MONDAY IN THEIR OVERTIME WIN. HE WAS DRAFTED IN 2024, IN THE FIRST ROUND, BUT EVEN BATTLED HARDSHIP EARLY ON WITH AN ACL INJURY. SO AT 20 YEARS OLD, THIS GUY HAS GOT AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP RING AND NOW HE\u2019S READY TO MAKE HIS NBA DEBUT. YOU JUST LOVE TO SEE THE BOUNCE BACK. FOR A GUY WHO HAS CLEARLY BEEN THROUGH A LOT OF ADVERSITY, AND I\u2019LL TELL YOU, I\u2019M EXCITED TO WATCH HIM TONIGHT. I KNOW FANS ARE REALLY THRILLED TO SEE WHAT HE CAN DO OFF THE BENCH. IT SOUNDS LIKE FOR THE THUNDER, IF HE IS MAKING HIS DEBUT AGAINST THE BUCKS NOW, ANOTHER ADDITION TO TONIGHT\u2019S INJURY REPORT. WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT JALEN WILLIAMS. HE LEFT THE THIRD QUARTER OF LAST NIGHT\u2019S GAME AGAINST THE PHOENIX SUNS AND DID NOT RETURN AFTER GENERATING 28 POINTS IN 20 MINUTES, SO J-DUB LEFT THE GAME STILL STRUGGLING WITH THAT HAMSTRING STRAIN. AND HE WILL BE REEVALUATED AFTER THE ALL STAR ALL STAR BREAK. SO HOPEFULLY THIS IS JUST ALL OUT OF CAUTION. J-DUB SIDELINED FOR THIS SET PERIOD OF TIME, SO WE\u2019LL SEE WHAT THE STATUS IS ON J-DUB AFTER THE ALL STAR BREAK, AS THE THUNDER GET READY TO TIP OFF AGAINST THE MILWAUKEE BUCKS TONIGH\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Nikola Topi\u0107 available to make NBA debut with Thunder after cancer diagnosis<\/p>\n

Nikola Topi\u0107 is available to make his debut with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday after he was diagnosed with cancer late last year. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"KOCO<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tUpdated: 4:10 PM CST Feb 12, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\tEditorial Standards \u24d8<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSpecial Projects Producer\/Digital Editor
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNikola Topi\u0107 is available to make his NBA debut with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday after he was diagnosed with cancer late last year. Thunder guard Nikola Topic diagnosed with testicular cancer, has begun chemoThe Thunder, who are set to face the Milwaukee Bucks at the Paycom Center, did not have Topi\u0107 on the team’s injury report, meaning he is available to play in the game. Topi\u0107 returned to the basketball court on Monday with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League team, after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in October.He was sidelined as he underwent chemotherapy. If Topi\u0107 does play against the Bucks, this will mark his first time playing with the Thunder. He missed last season due to a torn ACL. The Thunder announced in October that Topi\u0107, a guard, had been diagnosed with cancer after a testicular procedure at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston earlier in the month. He was expected to miss at least four weeks of playing. On Monday, he made his return to the court with the Oklahoma City Blue against the Sioux Falls Skyforce at the Paycom Center. Topi\u0107 received a standing ovation from the crowd as he checked in for the first time with about six minutes left in the first quarter.In October, Thunder General Manager Sam Presti said doctors were “extremely positive” on Topi\u0107’s long-term outlook. The 20-year-old Serbian guard was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. against the Bucks. Ajay Mitchell, Jalen Williams, Thomas Sorber, Isaiah Hartenstein, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Branden Carlson are all out for the Thunder. Top HeadlinesOklahoma executes death row inmate Kendrick Simpson for 2006 double murderGov. Kevin Stitt and President Donald Trump at odds over annual governors meeting with White HouseOur favorite Valentine’s Day gifts under $20President Trump calls Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt a ‘RINO’ ahead of governors’ meeting at White HouseTIMELINE: Severe storms possible in Oklahoma late Friday and into Saturday\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tOKLAHOMA CITY \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Nikola Topi\u0107 is available to make his NBA debut with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday after he was diagnosed with cancer late last year. <\/p>\n

Thunder guard Nikola Topic diagnosed with testicular cancer, has begun chemo<\/a><\/p>\n

The Thunder, who are set to face the Milwaukee Bucks at the Paycom Center, did not have Topi\u0107 on the team’s injury report, meaning he is available to play in the game. Topi\u0107 returned to the basketball court on Monday with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League team, after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in October.<\/p>\n

He was sidelined as he underwent chemotherapy. If Topi\u0107 does play against the Bucks, this will mark his first time playing with the Thunder. He missed last season due to a torn ACL. <\/p>\n

The Thunder announced in October that Topi\u0107, a guard, had been diagnosed with cancer after a testicular procedure at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston earlier in the month. He was expected to miss at least four weeks of playing. <\/p>\n

On Monday, he made his return to the court with the Oklahoma City Blue against the Sioux Falls Skyforce at the Paycom Center. Topi\u0107 received a standing ovation from the crowd as he checked in for the first time with about six minutes left in the first quarter.<\/p>\n

In October, Thunder General Manager Sam Presti said doctors were “extremely positive” on Topi\u0107’s long-term outlook.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old Serbian guard was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft. <\/p>\n

Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. against the Bucks. Ajay Mitchell, Jalen Williams, Thomas Sorber, Isaiah Hartenstein, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Branden Carlson are all out for the Thunder. <\/p>\n

Top Headlines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THIS TO MOVE OUT. COMING UP BACK TO YOU. ALL RIGHT. SOUNDS GOOD. DAMON. THANK YOU. NOW TO…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":593902,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3783],"tags":[80471,7,8152,79548,8650,141,949,6988,121,2123,6,3110,34998,878,310,475,179,3966,3965,4319,58572,312],"class_list":{"0":"post-603480","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oklahoma-city-thunder","8":"tag-annual-governor","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-basketball-court","11":"tag-cancer-diagnosis","12":"tag-first-time","13":"tag-guard","14":"tag-isaiah-hartenstein","15":"tag-kevin-stitt","16":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","17":"tag-monday","18":"tag-nba","19":"tag-nikola-topic","20":"tag-october","21":"tag-okc-thunder","22":"tag-oklahoma","23":"tag-oklahoma-city","24":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","25":"tag-oklahomacity","26":"tag-oklahomacitythunder","27":"tag-paycom-center","28":"tag-testicular-cancer","29":"tag-thunder"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116071285562163780","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=603480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/593902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=603480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=603480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=603480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}