The Oklahoma City Thunder have only gotten better since winning their first championship less than two months ago. One component to that being the case is the continued development of Nikola Topic, and it wouldn't be all that surprising if the youngster ends up becoming a candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award next season.
Yes, that's a rather bold statement to make, but let's dive into how I came to that conclusion specifically. Oklahoma City has been running circles around the rest of the league for the last calendar year, both on the court and off. If you're a Thunder fan, you're likely agreeing with me right now. And if you're an OKC hater, you're doing everything you can not to scream.
After the Thunder won Game 7 of the NBA Finals, they made incredibly wise decisions to lock in both Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, both on contracts that will ideally give the front office some wiggle room down the line as well. Now, their next move in the upcoming season could be to take advantage of their personnel on the court.
Early success could put Topic in 6MOY conversations
Oklahoma City is going to have the best roster in the NBA again next season, and Mark Diagneault is going to be figuring out what tricks he can pull out of his bag. One such wrinkle he may choose to implement is playing Nikola Topic more.
The youngster had a fantastic showing at Summer League and figures to be in the mix for real minutes in the Thunder's rotation next season. Topic has an exciting skillset along with impressive physical attributes. His ability to read the floor and make plays figure to put him in the conversation for a real role alongside more tenured teammates sooner rather than later.
And that begs the question: If he succeeds quickly, what's stopping him from entering awards conversations right off the bat? We know that individual awards in the NBA very frequently go alongside team success, and the Thunder are certainly going to be holding one of the best records in the Western Conference yet again.
That will likely put a lot of eyes on Topic's play from the start, especially if he's exceeding expectations. Should he become a reliable guy that Diagneault opts to lean on in the early part of the season, momentum could begin to build faster than fans think.