Nikola Topić Bio
Nikola Topić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Топић, born 10 August 2005) is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing at 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) and listed at 200 lb (91 kg), he plays the point guard position. Selected with the twelfth overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, Topić arrived in the league as one of the most talked-about young international guards in recent years.
Despite a rookie year lost to a torn ACL and a sophomore year interrupted by a testicular cancer diagnosis, Topić earned an NBA championship ring in 2025 without appearing in a regular-season or playoff game. His path through Serbian club basketball, European competition, and American professional ranks has made him one of the more resilient young players in the modern game.
Early Life and Background
Nikola Topić was born on 10 August 2005 in Novi Sad, then part of Serbia and Montenegro. He grew up in his hometown and began playing organized basketball with KK Defense, a local club that introduced him to the fundamentals of the game. His early development in Novi Sad gave him a strong technical base before he moved on to one of the most decorated youth systems in the region.
Topić comes from a family with deep basketball roots. His father, Milenko Topić, is a Serbian basketball coach and former professional player. Milenko, a power forward, spent much of his career in the YUBA League with Profikolor, BFC Beočin, and Crvena zvezda, and also played for Budućnost, Hemofarm, and clubs in Italy and Greece. The elder Topić represented FR Yugoslavia internationally, winning gold at EuroBasket 1997 and the 1998 FIBA World Championship, silver at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and bronze at EuroBasket 1999. That lineage gave Nikola an early window into the demands of professional basketball.
Path to Professional Basketball
In June 2020, Topić joined the Crvena zvezda youth system, a move that set the course for his professional life. The Belgrade program, one of the strongest in the Adriatic region, offered him a higher level of competition, structured coaching, and exposure to European cup basketball. By the time he reached his mid-teens, he was already being viewed as a high-upside prospect.
On 28 March 2022, Topić made his professional debut for Crvena zvezda in an ABA League match against Krka at the age of 16. He scored 4 points with 5 assists in 16 minutes, becoming the youngest player in club history to score in the ABA League. On 1 April 2022, he made his EuroLeague debut in a loss to Bayern Munich, becoming one of the youngest players ever to appear in the competition at 16 years and 253 days old. Those milestones marked his transition from promising youth player to recognized professional.
Nikola Topić Career
Early Career (2022–2023)
Topić’s first full professional season began with a loan to Serbian side Slodes in September 2022, providing him with consistent senior minutes away from Crvena zvezda’s deep rotation. He later returned to Belgrade, where he played from October through December 2022 and averaged 3.4 points across seven ABA League appearances. A planned transfer to FMP Meridian was cancelled by the league in January 2023, and he finished the 2022–23 campaign on loan at OKK Beograd.
With OKK Beograd, Topić showed the kind of production that justified his prospect status. He appeared in 19 Serbian League games and averaged 17.8 points on 55.2% shooting from the field, 5.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game. That stretch reinforced his identity as a tall, playmaking guard capable of scoring efficiently while setting up teammates.
Crvena zvezda Breakthrough (2023–2024)
On 17 July 2023, Topić signed his first professional contract with Crvena zvezda, formalizing his place in the senior setup. He opened the 2023–24 season on loan at Mega, where he averaged 18.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 3.7 rebounds across 13 games before returning to Crvena zvezda in December 2023. His form with Mega placed him among the most productive young guards in the region.
On 10 April 2024, Topić won the ABA League Top Prospect award after securing more than half of the votes, having averaged 17.9 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.6 rebounds during the voting window. He also earned All-ABA League Team honors that season and helped Crvena zvezda claim the 2023–24 ABA League title and the Serbian League championship. On 13 May 2024, he suffered a partially torn ACL in a league game against Partizan Belgrade, an injury that would reshape the start of his NBA career.
Oklahoma City Thunder Era (2024–Present)
On 26 June 2024, the Oklahoma City Thunder selected Topić with the twelfth overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft. He signed with the team on 6 July 2024, but the club later announced that he was expected to miss the entire 2024–25 season following surgery on his torn ACL. Even without taking the floor, Topić became an NBA champion in 2025 when the Thunder won the title, making him the third-youngest NBA player to win a championship.
On 6 October 2025, the Thunder announced that Topić would miss at least four to six weeks after a testicular procedure. General manager Sam Presti later confirmed that a biopsy at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston had led to a testicular cancer diagnosis, and that Topić had asked the organization to keep the news private until he began chemotherapy. On 9 February 2026, Topić made his NBA G League debut with the Oklahoma City Blue on assignment from the Thunder, his first competitive game since the diagnosis. Three days later, on 12 February 2026, he made his NBA debut in a home game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Driving Style and Strengths
Topić profiles as a tall, creative point guard who combines vision with scoring touch. His size allows him to see over defenders and finish in the paint, while his perimeter skill set lets him operate as a primary scorer and facilitator. Across his loans and at Crvena zvezda, he showed the ability to balance his own shot creation with high-level passing, a blend that has long appealed to scouts tracking European guard prospects.
Notable Events and Milestones
Topić’s career has been defined by firsts and by recovery. He became the youngest player in Crvena zvezda history to score in the ABA League, one of the youngest EuroLeague players ever, the 2024 ABA League Top Prospect, the 2023 FIBA U18 European Championship MVP, and an NBA champion in 2025. Each of those steps arrived on a different stage, underscoring the unusual arc of his early professional life.
Nikola Topić Career Wins
Topić has collected major team and individual honors at the youth, regional, and top international levels. His trophy case already includes NBA, ABA League, Serbian League, and Serbian Cup titles, along with prominent individual awards in European basketball. Together, those accomplishments trace a steady climb from Serbian youth circuits to the NBA Finals.
ABA League and Serbian Highlights
Topić is a two-time ABA League champion, winning his first title in 2022 and his second in 2024 with Crvena zvezda. He added a Serbian League championship in 2024 and a Serbian Cup winners’ medal the same year. His 2024 ABA League Top Prospect award and selection to the All-ABA League Team capped a breakthrough campaign that ended only when his ACL injury struck in May 2024.
International Stage
On the international stage, Topić represented Serbia at the 2023 FIBA U18 European Championship and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He had previously debuted for the senior Serbian national team in a 16 August 2023 friendly against Puerto Rico, marking the start of his senior national-team career. As of the 2025–26 season, he has not yet logged senior minutes for Serbia in major FIBA competition.
Nikola Topić Family
Family Background and Basketball Lineage
Basketball runs through the Topić family. Nikola’s father, Milenko Topić, is a Serbian basketball coach and former player whose professional resume includes stints in the YUBA League, Italy, and Greece. Milenko is a EuroBasket 1997 gold medalist, a 1998 FIBA World Championship gold medalist, a 1996 Olympic silver medalist, and a EuroBasket 1999 bronze medalist with FR Yugoslavia. That background gave Nikola direct access to elite-level insight as he grew up in Novi Sad.
Personal Life
Topić is a native of Novi Sad and has built his professional life in Serbia and the United States. Publicly available verified information about his marital status, partner, or children is limited, and those details are not included here.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025–26 NBA season was the campaign in which Topić finally reached the court in an Oklahoma City Thunder uniform. After missing the 2024–25 season entirely while recovering from ACL surgery, he returned to action in February 2026 on a G League assignment with the Oklahoma City Blue. His assignment games offered his first competitive minutes since the ACL injury and the cancer diagnosis, and served as a measured ramp-up before his NBA debut.
Topić made his NBA debut on 12 February 2026 in a home game against the Milwaukee Bucks, completing a long-awaited milestone. Because of the limited sample size and his ongoing recovery, the Thunder have not placed a fixed timetable on his broader role with the team. His return added a young, playmaking guard to a roster that had already secured the 2025 NBA championship.
For 2025, Topić’s individual statistical line is not yet large enough to summarize with confidence, and the table of series-by-series wins has been omitted for the same reason. Outlook through the remainder of the season centers on building conditioning, integrating into the rotation, and continuing his recovery, with the Thunder and Topić both emphasizing patience over short-term production.