Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Nikola Topic just can't seem to catch a break during his young and still untouched NBA career.
After missing the entirety of his first year in the association while rehabbing from a partially torn ACL sustained while playing overseas, many were excited to finally find the 12 overall pick from the 2024 draft taking to the hardwood for regular season action in 2025-26.
Based on his production throughout Summer League and in the club's preseason opener against the Charlotte Hornets, where he showcased his impressive all-around skill set while finishing with a stat line of 10 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds on 44.4 percent shooting from the field, it appeared he was more than ready to do so himself.
Sadly, this long-awaited debut is projected to be postponed yet again.
On Monday, reports surfaced that the point guard had undergone a surprise testicular procedure, which will keep him sidelined through at least the remainder of October and possibly longer, as his re-evaluation timeline has been set at four to six weeks.
Naturally, this kind of update could easily dampen the mood of both fans and team personnel. After all, Topic was heading into this year's campaign with such hype surrounding him.
However, head coach Mark Daigneault is choosing to go against the grain and stay upbeat about this unfortunate turn of events.
Mark Daigneault believes Thunder guard will easily make a full recovery
During a media session after word got out about Topic's injury, when asked by a reporter what his initial thoughts were on the setback of his lottery-selected floor general, coach Daigneault couldn't help but highlight the guard's mentality and already well-established drive, two attributes that keep him confident that he'll make a full recovery.
"I have the utmost confidence in him. If there's anything we learned from him last season, it's his level of maturity that he takes to every situation. He's definitely proven that he'll handle this with the same level of maturity," Daigneault said.
Despite still only being 20 years of age and not yet having played a lick of regular season action in the NBA, Topic's maturity has been a quality that has regularly caught the eye of the Thunder headman, with Daigneault specifically saying just last week that his maturity is "beyond his years."
As it did during the guard's redshirted first year with OKC, hopefully this will help keep him focused and in good spirits while he works his way back from his latest health-related ailment, one that Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili sustained back in 2016 and that held him out for roughly a month.