Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti announced Thursday that rookie guard Nikola Topic has been diagnosed with testicular cancer.
The diagnosis follows a procedure Topic underwent at the start of training camp. Initially, the team provided a four-to-six-week recovery timeline without further details. Presti has now clarified that the procedure, performed at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, was a biopsy that confirmed the cancer.
“He has a tremendous group of oncologists both at OU [and] at MD Anderson, and they are extremely positive about his outlook in dealing with this situation,” Presti said. He noted that while testicular cancer has a very high cure rate, Topic’s recommended treatment is chemotherapy.
According to Presti, Topic chose to wait until his treatments had begun before making the information public. “He’s been in here, he’s training, he’s working out through this entire process,” Presti added. “As we all know, this would be a challenging treatment process to go through.”
There is currently no timetable for Topic’s return to the court, as his health remains the team’s top priority. Presti praised the rookie’s character, calling him “extraordinarily mature, composed, [and] resilient.”
Topic, the No. 12 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, missed his initial season with a knee injury sustained before the draft. He participated in the Summer League and appeared in one preseason game before undergoing the procedure.
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