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Lurking the background of a title contender, Nikola Topic has quietly rehabbed from a torn ACL he suffered nearly a year ago on the Oklahoma City Thunder. The knee injury plummeted his 2024 draft stock to the point the title contender took a swing on him with the No. 12 selection.
It's a move the Thunder were afforded to make. While there's some risk involved as the 19-year-old was considered the best pure passer in his class but had room to grow in the rest of his game, the upside of a 6-foot-6 playmaker who could shoot the ball was too enticing to pass up on.
All that it cost the Thunder was patience. Similarly to Chet Holmgren, they took the selection knowing he'd serve a redshirt season in his first year as he recovers from a knee injury. Thankfully, modern medicine has advanced to the point that a torn ACL went from a career-ender to just a bump on the road.
As the regular season nears its end, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault discussed Topic's recovery. He can be seen at the practice facility working with assistants like shooting guru Chip Engelland. He's been impressed with the first-year player's mental fortitude.
“He’s on track with everything he’s supposed to be doing on the timeline he’s on. He’s done a really impressive job of keeping his head down. As a basketball player, he’s gone a long time without playing games and that’s tough. Especially when you’re a rookie," Daigneault said. "You want to establish yourself in the NBA and test yourself with what translates and what doesn’t. He wants to start learning and he can’t when he’s not on the court. Despite that, he’s been consistent with his work, shown a great level of professionalism, maturity and work ethic through this time. Very steady, both in his approach and mentally. He’s been very impressive in that way.”
The Thunder are already ridiculously deep as it is. Throw in a blue-chip prospect gifted to them from the Houston Rockets and it's scary for the rest of the league to think of the young talent pipeline OKC has built to sustain its championship window.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Mark Daigneault updates on Nikola Topic almost a year since torn ACL
Continue reading...
It's a move the Thunder were afforded to make. While there's some risk involved as the 19-year-old was considered the best pure passer in his class but had room to grow in the rest of his game, the upside of a 6-foot-6 playmaker who could shoot the ball was too enticing to pass up on.
All that it cost the Thunder was patience. Similarly to Chet Holmgren, they took the selection knowing he'd serve a redshirt season in his first year as he recovers from a knee injury. Thankfully, modern medicine has advanced to the point that a torn ACL went from a career-ender to just a bump on the road.
As the regular season nears its end, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault discussed Topic's recovery. He can be seen at the practice facility working with assistants like shooting guru Chip Engelland. He's been impressed with the first-year player's mental fortitude.
“He’s on track with everything he’s supposed to be doing on the timeline he’s on. He’s done a really impressive job of keeping his head down. As a basketball player, he’s gone a long time without playing games and that’s tough. Especially when you’re a rookie," Daigneault said. "You want to establish yourself in the NBA and test yourself with what translates and what doesn’t. He wants to start learning and he can’t when he’s not on the court. Despite that, he’s been consistent with his work, shown a great level of professionalism, maturity and work ethic through this time. Very steady, both in his approach and mentally. He’s been very impressive in that way.”
The Thunder are already ridiculously deep as it is. Throw in a blue-chip prospect gifted to them from the Houston Rockets and it's scary for the rest of the league to think of the young talent pipeline OKC has built to sustain its championship window.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Mark Daigneault updates on Nikola Topic almost a year since torn ACL
Continue reading...
