Teammate of Isaiah Hartenstein
Basketball talent suffers from testicular cancer
October 30, 2025 – 7:30 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Nikola Topić missed last season injured. Now the young basketball player has suffered another stroke of fate.
Nikola Topić, a player with the Oklahoma City Thunder and teammate of the German Isaiah Hartenstein, is suffering from testicular cancer. The 20-year-old Serb has already started chemotherapy, general manager Sam Presti announced on Thursday.
Topić underwent a biopsy at the beginning of October. The diagnosis was made. Presti explained that the treating doctors were “extremely positive” about the basketball talent’s long-term prognosis.
“We just expect him to focus on that. That’s his No. 1 priority,” Presti said. Topić will play basketball again as soon as he is ready. You don’t give him any concrete expectations or timescales.
It is therefore unclear when the young playmaker can make his debut in the NBA. Topić was selected twelfth by Oklahoma in the 2024 NBA Draft, but missed last season due to a torn cruciate ligament. Before the European Championships, he was part of the extended selection of the Serbian national team and participated in the preparation with the team. However, he was ultimately axed before the tournament.