For the most part, Nikola Topic's return to basketball has been obscured beneath the dominant storylines of the Oklahoma City Thunder's season.
Of course he, deservedly, got attention when he made his NBA debut. After an ACL injury took away his rookie year and he missed most of his second season undergoing treatments for cancer, it's an incredible, incredible story of resilience. No one can take that away from him.
But since he got sent back down to the G-League, Topic's return to action has been more than just a feel-good story. He's been playing highly productive minutes with the Oklahoma City Blue.
Mark Daigneault said they're not looking to evaluate him as a player this season, and rightfully so. This campaign should be about getting back into shape and regaining his feel for the game at a professional level.
But Topic has played well enough to earn some run with the NBA squad over the last few games of the regular season, and the Thunder must give it to him.
Nikola Topic has been incredible in the G-League, and it's time to see what he can truly do against NBA competition
Again, holding anything negative against Topic as a result of his play this season is a non-starter. But, frankly, there's very little negatives to be seen in his game so far. Even in just a limited stretch at the NBA level, Topic flashed much of the ball-handling and scoring acumen that he was known for when he was drafted.
Through 13 games with the G-League squad, Topic is averaging 18.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 7.8 assists while shooting 46.2% from 3-point range and 55.2% from the field. Those are highly impressive numbers for anyone, let alone a player who has been out of action for almost two years.
He made his sixth appearance of the regular season earlier this week, playing 12 minutes in the Thunder's blow-out win over the Los Angeles Lakers. There's no reason why he shouldn't see similar run in a couple more matchups over the next week and a half.
Oklahoma City has yet to clinch the first seed in the Western Conference, which complicates things a bit. Perhaps in their remaining matchups against the Lakers and Denver Nuggets, it will be better to roll with the regular rotation. But they also have matchups looming against the Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers, and Phoenix Suns.
Topic has more than earned the opportunity to see some time on the court before the end of the season, and the Thunder have the flexibility in their schedule to grant it to him.