Believe it or not, this may not be Oklahoma City’s final form.
The Thunder look well on their way to advancing to their first NBA Finals since 2012, as they lead the Minnesota Timberwolves 3-1.
They were thoroughly the most dominant team in the league this season and have looked every bit the part in the playoffs.
Led by newly-minted MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and rising stars in Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, they look prime to win the franchise’s first championship while in Oklahoma City.
Sorry SuperSonics fans.
However, the scary part is that this Oklahoma City Thunder squad might not even be the best version of itself.
Forget SGA, Williams, and Holmgren all getting better, which they are sure to do, but the Thunder will be welcoming a new but familiar face to the rotation next season.
Barring a trade in the offseason, Nikola Topic will make his NBA debut next fall.
Topic was the 12th overall pick by OKC in the 2024 draft and missed all of this season due to surgery on a torn ACL he had suffered a month before the draft.
Yet, he was still a lottery pick, which speaks to the talent that Topic has.
He is a 6ft-6in point guard that hails from Serbia, and was arguably the best European player during his time in the ABA League, where he won two championships in his late teens.
Serbians know how to hoop, just look at that guy in Denver.
And it’s hard to fathom that the Thunder are going to add another tremendously talented player to a roster that is already the best in the league.
Topic has all the tools to be an immediate playmaker on an NBA court.
He has analysts and fans alike daydreaming of what this Oklahoma City can eventually turn into.
“Once a day or so I remember the Thunder have Nikola Topic just waiting to play his first NBA minutes next season,” the Ringer’s Zach Lowe commented on X.
”Dynasty activated,’ one optimistic fan replied.
“He had top 3 upside in the 2024 class. 6’6 table setter who can kill in the PnR. Perfect for switching off minutes with Shai next year. He and Wallace will be a nasty backcourt,” another fan chimed in.
It remains to be seen what Topic will look like when he does finally make his NBA debut, but the hope is high.
And if he looks like what Thunder general manager Sam Presti thinks he will look like, then the rest of the league is in trouble.
In just a few short weeks, Presti and company may be raising the Larry O’Brien Trophy, with Topic not evening a thought.
However next year, Topic has a chance to raise the ceiling of this Thunder team even more.
And that’s a terrifying thought for everyone else.
