{"id":172533,"date":"2026-01-13T10:11:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T15:11:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=172533"},"modified":"2026-01-13T10:11:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T15:11:23","slug":"tough-thunder-rookie-nikola-topic-back-on-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/01\/13\/tough-thunder-rookie-nikola-topic-back-on-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Tough Thunder Rookie Is ‘Back On Court’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Oklahoma City Thunder could see Nikola Topic suiting up in an NBA game sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

Having missed what was supposed to be his rookie season with a torn ACL<\/a>, Topic’s second attempt at starting his NBA career was being watched with wide eyes. In a tragic twist, his NBA debut was then stalled by a testicular cancer diagnosis<\/a>; a truly unforeseen circumstance. Prescribed a course of chemotherapy soon after his first preseason game, there was an outpouring of support for the 20-year-old. Though it was an auspicious treatment, there’s a mountain of anecdotes about how the chemotherapy process wreaks havoc on the body.<\/p>\n

Thunder Rookie Nikola Topic Is ‘Back On Court’<\/h1>\n

On Monday, a glabrous Topic posted a picture of himself on Instagram.<\/p>\n

The caption was short. Simple. Powerful.<\/p>\n

“Back on court,” it read.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Nikola Topic (@nikola14topic)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n