Two years removed from making the 12th pick in the 2024 draft, Oklahoma City Thunder executive vice president and GM Sam Presti has both of the two prospects — Nikola Topic and Jared McCain — he favored for Mark Daigneault. Having both guards couldn't have come at a better time. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is out with an abdominal injury, Ajay Mitchell hasn't played since January, and Jalen Williams will be re-evaluated in March.
Losing three of its leading scorers has shown in Oklahoma City's inability to reach anywhere near its 119.4 point average without its reigning MVP and two of the Thunder's top four scorers. It's a good thing Presti parted with a 2026 first-round pick and two future seconds at the trade deadline to acquire a young guard he's had eyes for since McCain's 2024 pre-draft workout with the Thunder.
Presti also believed in a 19-year-old Serbian prospect with an old-school approach to the point guard position despite a season-ending ACL injury. Presti was OK with debuting Topic, whom the Thunder did select at No. 12, in 2025-26. Then, no one could have predicted what followed after one Thunder preseason game. Now, both McCain and Topic are playing in Oklahoma City in unexpected times of their respective careers.
Jared's trade from the Philadelphia 76ers drove him to tears. Topic is four months removed from a cancer diagnosis. All of this was unexpected, but they both fit the Thunder's offense like a glove. McCain's ability to create and spot up for open threes gives Daigneault another scorer to use at his disposal. Topic gives the Thunder a secondary playmaker who can also score in spurts off the bench, which he's already proven in the first two games of his NBA career.
Chalk it up to another victory for Thunder GM Sam Presti amid coach Mark Daigneault and the defending champions' quest to win back-to-back titles.
Jared McCain scores season-high in Thunder win vs. Nets
Sophomore guard Jared McCain has made at least one 3-pointer in each of his five appearances with the Thunder. He's also efficient, connecting on 9-of-20 (45%), including half of his six 3-point attempts in a 105-86 win against the Nets. McCain led the Thunder with a season-high 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting, four rebounds, and one steal. And his presence has also had a positive effect on the defending champions' supporting cast.
Isaiah Joe, who's drained at least two threes in five consecutive games, extended his streak to six en route to 11 points, as his hot streak continued in Friday's win against the Nets. Joe's shooting at a career-best 41.7% clip from deep this season. However, that percentage spikes to 55.8% on a whopping 19-of-34 attempts in the five games since McCain's arrival.
Still, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault reminded reporters it's not all about shooting with McCain and Joe, as their increased roles amidst Oklahoma City's injuries have extended them to doing other things that help with winning.
“It's not the only thing they do,” Daigneault said. “Jared's a guy that — he's dynamic offensively — he's got more to his game than just spot-up shooting. You could see that tonight. Then, Isaiah Joe rebounded the ball great tonight. We play small with him on the court even though he's a lighter guy because he's physical, he executes, and he gets his nose in plays for the ball.
“It's not just simply leveraging the shoot. It's being able to put them out there because of the other skills that they bring. But, yeah, we've got optionality, and that's what you want. You never know what you're going to need. You never know who's going to be going good. We try to lean into that, obviously, with changing rotations, and lineups, and they give us more options, definitely,” Daigneault concluded.
Since McCain joined the Thunder, Joe is averaging 15.8 points on 49.4% shooting, including 55.8% from deep, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game.
“We all have a role to play, and we all kind of know it, and they've done a great job of helping me with that. I think we all can create shots for each other once we get the ball moving. Good stuff is going to happen once we get the ball moving,” McCain said. “[We're] figuring it out as we go. It's tough to do it without those guys in. We're figuring it out, though.”
Nikola Topic's playmaking closes out Thunder win
While Jared McCain and Isaiah Joe's scoring gave the Thunder a double-digit cushion, Nikola Topic, in only his second NBA game, closed the door in the final frame with playmaking, shooting, and smooth finishes at the rim. For coach Mark Daigneault, Thunder's Topic is a traditional pure point guard with a pass-first mentality, and the confidence to score when he sees fit.
Daigneault says Topic is a testament to what the NBA's lacking in its modern-day point guards during the Thunder head coach's postgame media availability on Friday.
“Basketball doesn’t have a lot of actual pure point guards anymore. There's unbelievable skill, but the traditional team runners, there's not a ton of those guys, and that’s what he is: he can run your team,” Daigneault said. “He’s gonna get you organized up the floor. He understands what we’re trying to accomplish even at this extremely early infant stage of his career, and he's got the passing to go with it.
“He's got a long way to go. He's got a lot to learn even offensively in terms of creating advantages, reading the different coverages he's going to see when the league learns him a little bit; that'll be a new challenge for him. But he's off to a great start.”
Topic finished with nine points, three rebounds, and two assists in 11 minutes, as the rookie guard continues to find his footing his the infant stages of his career. Still, Daigneault sees his team benefiting from both McCain and Topic's impact amidst the Thunder's title defense.
