The NBA preseason has finally tipped off, which means the start of the regular season is just weeks away.
Coming off the most exciting offseason in franchise history, the Oklahoma City Thunder will look to repeat as NBA champions in 2025-26.
After the Thunder’s first preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday, the team revealed some concerning news on the 2024 first-round pick Nikola Topic.
Nikola Topic to miss start of regular season after undergoing procedure
It appears that 2024 No. 12 overall pick Nikola Topic will be missing the start of the regular season. The Thunder guard underwent a testicular procedure and will get re-evaluated in four to six weeks, Clemente Almanza of the OKC Thunder Wire reported on Monday.
This means that Topic will be missing about 15 games to begin the 2025-26 season. Clemente also reported that “the injury must’ve happened in their preseason win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.”
After missing the entire 2024 season with a torn ACL, Topic will have to go through the rehab process for yet another injury to begin his young career. After getting selected 12th overall in 2024, the Thunder have had high expectations for the 20-year-old. He will hopefully serve as one of the backup guards for them moving forward.
Topic will be another injury to the Thunder that the team will have to monitor as the season nears its start. He’ll join Kenrich Williams (knee), Thomas Sorber (knee), and Jalen Williams (wrist) as the players on the injury report in Oklahoma City.
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