Nikola Topic, a guard for the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for testicular cancer, team leaders announced Thursday.
Topic, 20, underwent a biopsy in Houston to diagnose the problem earlier in October, according to the Thunder. General manager Sam Presti said Topic asked the team not to disclose his diagnosis until he began treatment.
“Our only expectations for him are to focus on this,” Presti said at a press conference. “This is his most important priority. He’ll be back playing basketball when he’s able to, but we’re not putting any time length or expectations on that, obviously. He has our total support, encouragement and love.”
Topic, a Serbian native, was selected by the Thunder with the 12th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft but missed all of the 2024-25 season with an ACL injury while his teammates won the franchise’s first title in Oklahoma City.
Entering the season, he was expected to provide a scoring boost off the bench for a Thunder squad battling several injuries.
“He has all the tools that you could ask for somebody to take on and conquer the situation,” Presti said Thursday.
Nearly 10,000 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2025, and the five-year survival rate among people diagnosed with localized testicular cancer is 99%, according to the American Cancer Society.
With News Wire Services
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