Why Sam Presti is excited to see Nikola Topic play in 2025 Summer League

USA Today

2 days ago

Like a comic book character teased at the end of a movie, Nikola Topic appeared more and more the deeper the Oklahoma City Thunder went in the playoffs. By the time they claimed their first NBA championship, over a year had passed since the 19-year-old partially tore his ACL.
The rich get richer. Usually, the NBA champion has little to look forward to in the Summer League. They're stuck at the No. 30 pick of most NBA drafts. That spot usually isn't filled with intriguing draft prospects who are worth watching in the two-week extravaganza.
But because of the Thunder's ridiculous draft haul, Topic headlines their Summer League. The 2024 No. 12 pick will finally suit up for OKC after he missed his first year recovering from a knee injury he suffered in May 2024 that dropped his draft stock.
This isn't new territory for the Thunder. Under different circumstances, Chet Holmgren missed his first season with a Lisfranc injury he suffered in August 2022. The wait was worth it as he played an important role in OKC's first championship.
After he confirmed Topic will play, Sam Presti discussed how excited he was to finally see Topic play. While also throwing in a precautionary tale to not be too rash with judgment, considering his unique circumstances.
"We've seen this before, where somebody has a year where they can just focus on getting their feet underneath them as an NBA player, working on their body, learning the league. I think he's made great strides during this period of time," Presti said. "We'll see when he gets out there playing in Summer League. He hasn't played 5-on-5 with, like, scoreboard, referees, people in the stands. We've got to give him some grace on that."
If Topic can reach close to his ceiling, he can solve a lot of the Thunder's roster problems. Despite winning a championship, there's no denying they struggled with a shaky half-court offense throughout the playoffs. A high-end playmaker like the 19-year-old could fix that.
"Certainly excited to see him and what he offers to the team. And like I said before, we're not trying to fit him into last year's team," Presti said. "We're just trying to see where we are with our guys when we're back here, and then we'll go through the same process we go through every year, which is discovering the team, experimenting, looking at a lot of different options and lineups, trying to develop the collective team and how everybody can work within that."
How Topic develops and enters training camp will be an interesting storyline to watch. He will surely battle Ajay Mitchell for the backup point guard role. Both have overlapping skills. The latter has actual NBA production to point to as his favorite, while the former has higher potential.
Summer League will likely provide both a chance to see who gets the early advantage. Fresh off an NBA championship, Thunder fans will continue to enjoy their riches with actual reasons to get excited for the July event.