Thunder backcourt star: I haven t played for a long time, participating in the game has made me more confident

The lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, backcourt star Nikola Topic from Serbia had to recuperate for a whole year due to a torn ACL injury in his rookie season. However, after accepting the statement from Justin Martinez, a reporter from Oklahoman, local media outlet in Oklahoma City, he was able to find some positive points from this long recovery process.

Topić said: I haven't been on the court for a long time, and it's really hard. But during this process, you will also have the opportunity to recognize something you didn’t know about yourself before. I can see something positive from it and learn something from it. Topic continued: I feel more confident. Taking part in a game, having a nap before playing the game, and all the other things about the game, I feel like I'm much more confident than before.

Topic was born in August 2005 and is a 20-year-old backcourt star from Serbia selected by the Thunder with the 12th pick in the first round in the NBA draft last year. According to physical test data from the joint trial held in Europe before the NBA draft last year, Topić's bare foot height is 198.1cm, his wingspan is 196.9cm, his standing height is 259.1cm, and his weight is 92.1kg. Topic suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the left knee in the second half of the 2023-24 season, which also led to his continuous decline in draft market, and was finally selected by the Thunder at the end of the lottery. In the 2023-24 season before joining the Thunder, Topic played 23 times in various competitions for KK Mega and Belgrade Red Star in Europe, with averaging 27.8 minutes per game, with averaging 14.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1 steal, 0.1 block, and 2.4 turnovers and 3 fouls. His shooting percentage was 49.8%, his three-point shooting percentage was 30.6%, and his free throw shooting percentage was 87.8%.

In the previous NBA Summer League, Topic finally returned from injury after being missed for more than a season. He played 6 times for the Thunder, averaging 27.3 minutes per game, averaging 10.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and 4.7 turnovers and 3.5 fouls. He shot 33.3%, three-point shooting percentage 20.8%, and free throw shooting percentage 92.3%. Topic's performance during the summer league was not outstanding, but considering that he had been out of the game for a long time, such performance was acceptable, and his performance in passing and organization was quite outstanding, and his role on the defensive end was also quite outstanding. I don’t know what kind of performance this young player who is highly anticipated by everyone will perform in the NBA field in the new season.