It didn’t take long for Sam Presti to use one of his favorite metaphors. He recently held his 2025-26 preseason press conference as the 2025-26 regular season is right around the corner. When discussing expectations, he compared the Oklahoma City Thunder to a living, breathing organism that evolves.
One of the ways the Thunder can differentiate from last season, despite mostly the same roster, is in their backup guard spot. After being out all of last year with a torn ACL, Nikola Topic will finally suit up for his rookie season. The 20-year-old brings excitement with his potential.
The Thunder added Topic with the No. 12 pick of the 2024 NBA draft. He has a chance to be a high-end playmaker, but must turn into a decent shooter first before he can reach his ceiling. It’ll be interesting to see how the NBA champion balances their title reign with developmental reps.
Presti said the Thunder will remain open-minded with their roster. After all, that’s how they captured an NBA championship. He cited examples such as Chet Holmgren being forced to play at power forward or how they went with a three-guard lineup way back in 2020 with Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder.
After painting a Larry O’Brien trophy last year, the Thunder will have a blank canvas. They won’t be afraid to paint outside of the lines and get messy. That could include some growing pains with Topic, as he learns to play against NBA talent.
“We just have to see where he is, how the team performs, where the combinations are, and give that some time and not overreact if things are not smooth immediately, with any players specifically,” Presti said. “Because a team is, like I said, the sixth youngest team in the league still, so there’s still going to be a ton of growth within the team during the year, let alone what’s been done in the offseason.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Topic’s first season unfolds. He could fill a roster hole as a secondary playmaker. If the Thunder hope to remain a championship contender, they will need recent lottery picks like him to hit as they fill out most of the roster with cheap, young talent.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: What does Sam Presti expect from Nikola Topic in 2025-26 season?
