The Oklahoma City Thunder had something to look forward to during the offseason as Nikola Topic participated in the 2025 EuroBasket for Serbia. Unfortunately, he was not able to make the team, falling shy of the 12-player roster that will be playing in the tournament.
Most of the players who made the main roster of the league are in the NBA or EuroLeague and have played with the team for a while.
Topic played in the friendly schedule that had been going on for the past few weeks, but he won't see any time on the court beyond that. This shouldn't come as a shock to some, as Topic just returned to playing after recovering from a partially torn ACL. The first time the Thunder fans got to see him play since the team drafted him was during the 2025 Summer League, where he showed some flash.
Topic's time wasn't now to make the roster, but he still has a young career and will have more opportunities in the future to prove that he deserves to be on the team. The Thunder may be excited to see that Topic was able to get some playing time with his national team, showing that he should be ready for when training camp comes around.
There's a good chance that Topic could compete for the backup guard spot on the team, but with his skillset, he could end up playing in several roles.
The Thunder showed last season that they were deep and had young players ready to contribute, and with them bringing back the same roster, it may be tough for some to get consistent minutes. Head coach Mark Daigneault proved last season that he can manage minutes and keep players on the floor, and if Topic deserves those minutes, he will give them to him.
Coming into this upcoming season, the Thunder should once again be the favorites to get to the NBA Finals, but they will have teams such as the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets giving them a run for their money. The Western Conference will also be competitive in general, so there could be other teams that are going to make the leap and make a run.
