When the OKC Thunder selected Nikola Topic with the 12 overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft, many believed the organization came away with a true steal of a selection.
Prior to going down with a torn ACL roughly a month before draft day while playing with Crvena zvezda of the ABA, the Serbian guard was believed to be a strong contender to be taken with the top pick in that June's festivities.
To the delight of Thunder fans, the club managed to add such a prospect in the back-end of the lottery.
Now, while there was some reason to believe that his buzz as a legitimate number one option may have been influenced by the fact that last year's class was considered to be somewhat lacking in high-upside talent, recently, ESPN's Bobby Marks shared a rather exciting revelation that should certainly put such doubt to rest.
Thunder guard seen as a top prospect even in the 2025 NBA Draft
During a July 15 Summer League broadcast, the NBA insider was discussing the state of Oklahoma City, and talked up some of the younger talents that reside on the roster, particularly Topic.
Amid his assessment of the point guard, Marks noted that, when recently talking to a source, he was told that Topic still would have been a highly sought-after commodity even if he were to have waited another year and been part of the 2025 NBA Draft.
"I had a scout tell me that [Topic] would have been a top-five pick in this year's draft," Marks said.
After redshirting the entire 2024-25 season while rehabbing from knee surgery, Topic has finally been able to show fans and league pundits glimpses of what he's capable of on the hardwood, as he's been one of the most buzzed-about players taking part in this year's Summer League.
Dazzling audiences and teammates with his set-up skills and defensive chops, the 19-year-old has been truly impressive running the show as the lead floor general for the Thunder. Through five games played, he finds himself boasting solid all-around averages of 11.4 points, 5.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.8 steals a night.
Even with his limitations (shooting just 31.9 percent from the floor) and areas of real struggle (coughing up 5.6 turnovers a night), his overall play has undoubtedly reinforced the original notion from a year ago that Topic was deserving of all the hype he received heading into the 2024 NBA Draft.
According to Marks, the same level of advertising would have followed him into the 2025 draft class as well.