Thunder’s Nikola Topic reflects on ‘awesome’ win after cancer diagnosis

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Thunder’s Nikola Topic reflects on ‘awesome’ win after cancer diagnosis

Josue Pavon, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Sat, Feb 21, 2026 ·

4 min read

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Thunder's Nikola Topic reflects on 'awesome' win after cancer diagnosis appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Nikola Topic addressed the NBA media for the first time since his cancer diagnosis. Topic made his NBA debut in a 105-86 win against the Milwaukee Bucks before the All-Star break last week. It was an emotional moment for Nikola, who received a standing ovation at the Paycom Center.

After helping the Thunder secure a 105-86 victory against the Brooklyn Nets , Topic, playing in his first two NBA games, talked about what it was like during his first postgame media availability on Friday.

"Awesome moment. I'll remember that for the rest of my life — thanks to the fans," Topic said. "For sure, I'll remember that for the rest of my life."

Topic admits that returning to the game after being away from it for so long felt odd. However, he managed to put his emotions aside shortly after checking into the first NBA game of his career.

"It was pretty weird at first. I'm kind of getting back the feel for the game again," Topic added. "I was out for a while. It was so weird coming back. I was catching myself doing stuff I was never did before. It was pretty tough to adjust to that, but every game was better. First game in the G League. Second game was better. First game here was OK. Second one was better. But I think it will only get better."

Topic finished with nine points on 4-for-6 shooting, including 1-of-2 from deep, three rebounds, and two assists in 11 minutes. He helped keep the Nets at bay throughout the second half, especially at the start of the fourth quarter when Topic tallied five points and one assist in less than two minutes, which led to a 16-point advantage for Oklahoma City.

Chet Holmgren keeps it 100 about Thunder's Nikola Topic

All-Star Chet Holmgren reacted to Nikola Topic's Thunder debut by commending the rookie for his courage. While Holmgren did miss his entire rookie season due to an injury, similar to Topic's ACL repair that shelved him for the entire 2024-25 campaign, Chet couldn't begin to relate to Nikola's testicular cancer diagnosis from October.

Holmgren shared a heartfelt take on Topic's return to basketball.

"Anybody battling cancer is fighting for their life. I could never begin to understand what that's like. It just speaks to the strength of [Topić], and who he is as a person," Holmgren said. "It would have been very justified for him to weigh everybody around him down and sulk, and be mad at the world because the kid he is, he doesn't deserve that. We're all just so happy that he was able to battle through that, get back to hooping.

"You see a lot bigger smile on his face when he's able to be out there with his shoes on. I thought he had a really good game tonight. He could have made 100 shots or missed 100 shots tonight; it was an amazing game for him. Being able to get out there, get some reps under his belt, and now, he can learn from them, we can learn from him, too."

Topic will play in the third game of his NBA career when the Thunder host the Cavs at the Paycom Center on Sunday.

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