The Oklahoma City Thunder made a surprising pick Wednesday night when it selected Nikola Topic of Serbia.
Topic is expected to miss most of, if not all of the 2024 NBA season with a partially torn ACL, and he has a history of knee injuries.
When healthy, Topic is arguably the best passer in the draft, and was a projected top five pick in this draft class. OKC clearly sees Topic as having a high amount of potential, and believes that his 89% free throw rate will translate to improves outside shooting.
We won’t see Topic for a long time, but when we do it is possible he could develop into a steal.
Topic could be the best player in the class if everything comes together. It is not surprising that Sam Presti swung on one of the most talented players in the class, but with players like Devin Carter and Dalton Knecht on the board, it could come back to bite them.
