Going through an intense pregame warmup, Thomas Sorber looks ready to go. Same with Nikola Topic — as he's spent time with the two-way players. Considering the Oklahoma City Thunder are navigating life without Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace, they badly need reinforcements.
Sorber and Topic could provide help. It's hard to see the vision from the jump, per se, but both were recent top-15 picks in the NBA draft. Even with their extensive injury history, they'll surely boost your odds of surviving the second-unit minutes better than any of OKC's two-way guys.
Considering how dire OKC's health situation is right now, could Topic and Sorber be expedited to return? We'll see. Both had offseason surgeries they're still recovering from. Topic had back surgery and Sorber underwent a second knee procedure. According to OKC Blue head coach Daniel Dixon, the organization knows whether or not a G League assignment will be part of their ramp-up process.
"Like every season, as those things come, we communicate them to you guys. They have a plan in place," Dixon said on Blue Media Day. "We're just working on that."
Topic and Sorber have been absolutely rattled by the injury bug in their respective NBA journeys. Topic missed the entire 2024-25 season with a torn ACL. He was then limited to 10 games in the 2025-26 season as he overcame a scary testicular cancer diagnosis. Now, he's recovering from back surgery.
Meanwhile, Sorber hasn't suited up in nearly a year and a half. He had foot surgery at Georgetown. He then missed the entire 2025-26 season with a torn ACL.
The Thunder could certainly use the NBA bodies right now. They're desperate for some depth. Right now, it's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Ajay Mitchell and that's really about it. When those two are off the floor, it's the third-stringers and two-way guys. Certainly not a formula for long-term success.
The Blue will open their 2026-27 regular season on Friday, Nov. 6. History suggests that both Topic and Sorber will spend some time with them to get physically ready for the NBA regular-season games. But considering the Thunder are in a uniquely disastrous situation right now, maybe those steps will get skipped.
Only time will tell. But Williams' and Wallace's injuries have definitely opened a pathway for both to get real NBA minutes from the jump. You couldn't have confidently forecasted that a week ago.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Could Nikola Topic, Thomas Sorber play in G League before helping OKC Thunder?
