Two years ago, Chet Holmgren was selected with the No. 2 overall pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder but later suffered a Lisfranc injury in the offseason that set him out his entire "true" rookie campaign. Now in the 2024 NBA Draft, it selected Nikola Topic with the No. 12 pick, who is set to miss his own rookie campaign with a torn ACL that he sustained in the Adriatic League playoffs.
Oklahoma City is unquestionably in a win-now position, coming off of a No. 1-seeded campaign and second-round loss to the eventual Western Conference finalist Dallas Mavericks. The unfortunate truth about this year's draft is that there aren't a lot of win-now players to be had, accentuated by the position it sat in.
The most obvious comparison being drawn from Topic is of course, Josh Giddey. They both share a similar archetype of a tall guard who takes pride in their playmaking ability, so it's natural to immediately draw that comparison. However, a big strength for Topic is his ability to convert opportunities at the rim, which Giddey has struggled to do throughout his career.
The pick doesn't come without its risks. Topic could easily struggle to adjust to the NBA or much less stay on the court, resulting in a misfire by the Thunder. Still, there's a high ceiling he could reasonably reach, given the length of time and other assets to take a chance on that. Not every team could take that risk, but it's able to have that luxury.
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