Name: Nikola Topic
Birth date: August 10, 2005
Height/Weight: 6’6/203
Wingspan/ standing reach: 6’5 ½/8’6
Hand size: 9
Position: Guard
Pre-Draft team: Mega/Crvena Zvezda
Tools: Playmaking, finishing touch, shooting upside
Background: Partially tore his ACL in May 2024. Split time between Mega and Crvena Zvezda.
Season stats: 14.5 PPG 3.2 RPG 5.5 APG 1 SPG 0.1 BPG 2.3 TOPG 3 FPG in 28 MPG on 50/31/88 splits
Pros:
Comfortable driving with both hands
Strong shooting touch
Good playmaker that can create easily out of the P&R
Great touch near the rim, along with crafty drives and creative finishes with both hands
Cons:
Low release point on jumper
Jump shot mechanics can be iffy in terms of repeatability. Ball can come out flat & in a line drive at times
Lacks explosion and relies purely on touch and acrobatic finishes on crowded drives
Defensive concerns on-ball; lacks hip fluidity against drives and loses balance against crossovers
Needs to get stronger
Poor frame with negative wingspan
Doesn’t have a go-to scoring move or crossover, with a simple handle
Swing Skills:
Purely below the rim finisher. Will this impact how his finishing translates?
How much will his shot improve?
Summary:
Nikola Topic was one of the top prospects in the draft prior to his partial ACL tear, leading to a likely fall on draft night.
With a great free throw percentage, teams are hopeful Topic can become a good shooter despite his low 3P%. His shot has a low release, flat arc often, and he can struggle to shoot over long contests, but his shooting touch is strong and could help him develop a jumper over time in the NBA.
The biggest sell for both now and in the future with Topic is his ability to become a 3 level scorer, with high-level finishing already. As Topic develops his body and adds strength (his body is far behind physically), his already outstanding finishing will only improve as his body matures. Topic desperately needs to get stronger to help himself defensively, but adding strength will also help him finish more successfully through contact to add to his already high floor as a finisher.
Defensively, Topic is a likely negative with on-ball defensive woes in terms of physicals/length and athleticism and balance. Whichever team drafts him will need to have a successful defensive infrastructure to set him up to become a positive player in the NBA. If his defense can’t be hidden and he becomes a hole that teams target, his margin for error on offense becomes that much thinner. If he doesn’t shoot well enough and the FT% doesn’t accurately forecast his future shooting, Topic could easily fall down the depth chart and have his 3 level scoring upside limited.
In short, Topic will need to become an at least average shooter, keep adding strength to propel him towards becoming one of the top guard finishers in the NBA, and have a sound second line of defense behind him to become a top 10 player from this class. If teams are confident his physically immature body can be an indication at high upside, he will safely go as high as the lingering injury allows for his stock to go (likely as high as the second Spurs pick).
Projected draft range: 8-18
Expected role: P&R playmaker with 3 level scoring upside.
Unplayable if: Jumper and defense become exploitable, and his body doesn’t develop well enough.
Exceeds expectations if: Free throw percentage properly predicts his shooting upside, and he becomes an above average shooter, his slashing thrives, and he has a quality second line of defense to protect him.
Videos:
Takeaways from lowest scoring game