Two years away from having the 12th pick in the 2024 draft, Oklahoma City Thunder executive vice president and GM Sam Presti has both prospects — Nikola Topic and Jared McCann — he backed up Mark Daigneault. The timing of both guards could not have come at a better time. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is out with an abdominal injury, Ajay Mitchell hasn't played since January, and Jalen Williams will be reevaluated in March.
Losing three of its leading scorers shows that Oklahoma City is unable to get close to its 119.4 point average without its reigning MVP and two of the Thunder's top four scorers. It's a good thing Presti parted ways with a 2026 first-round pick and two future seconds at the trade deadline to acquire a young guard he's had his eye on since McCann's 2024 pre-draft workout with the Thunder.
Presti also trusted the 19-year-old Serbian prospect with an old-school approach to the point guard position despite suffering a season-ending ACL injury. Presti was fine with the debut of Topch, who was selected by the Thunder at No. 12 in 2025-26. Back then, no one could have predicted what would happen after the Thunder preseason games. Now, McCain and Topic are both playing in Oklahoma City at unexpected times in their respective careers.
Jared's trade to the Philadelphia 76ers made him cry. The subject is four months away from a cancer diagnosis. This was all unexpected, but they both fit like a glove into the Thunder's offense. McCann's ability to make open threes and create space gives Daigneault another scorer to utilize. Topic gives the Thunder a secondary playmaker who can score quickly off the bench, which he has already proven in the first two games of his NBA career.
It's another win for coach Mark Daigneault and Thunder GM Sam Presti amid the defending champions' quest to win back-to-back titles.
Jared McCann scores season-high in Thunder vs. Nets win
Second-year guard Jared McCain has made at least one 3-pointer in each of his five appearances with the Thunder. He's also efficient at connecting on 9 of 20 (45%), including half of his six 3-point attempts in a 105-86 win against the Nets. McCain led the Thunder with a season-high 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting, four rebounds and one steal. And his presence has also had a positive impact on the defending champion's supporting cast.
Isaiah Joe, who has missed at least two threes in five consecutive games, extended his streak to six to 11 points as his hot streak continued in Friday's win against the Nets. Joe shot a career-best 41.7% clip from deep this season. However, that percentage has increased to 55.8% with McCann making 19 of 34 attempts in the five games since his arrival.
Still, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault reminded reporters it's not all about shooting with McCain and Joe, as their increased roles amid Oklahoma City's injuries have elevated them to do other things that help win.
"It's not the only thing they do," Daigneault said. "Jared is a guy that - he's dynamic offensively - there's a lot more to his game than spot-up shooting. You could see it tonight. Again, Isaiah Joe rebounded the ball great tonight. We play short games with him on the court, even though he's a light guy because he's good physically, he executes, and he gets his nose in the ball to make plays.
"It's not just taking advantage of the shooting. It's being able to put them out there because of the other skills they bring. But, yes, we have optionality, and that's what you want. You never know what you need. You never know who's going to do well. We obviously try to lean into that with changing rotations and lineups, and they definitely give us more options," Daigneault concluded.
Since McCann joined the Thunder, Joe has averaged 15.8 points on 49.4% shooting, including 55.8% from deep, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.
"We all have a role to play, and we all know it, and he's done a great job of helping me with that. I think once we get the ball moving, we can all create shots for each other. Once we get the ball moving, good things are going to happen," McCain said. "[We're] This becomes known as we move forward. It's hard to do it without those people. “However, we are figuring it out.”
Nikola Topic's playmaking wraps up Thunder's win
While Jared McCann and Isaiah Joe's scoring gave the Thunder double-digit relief, Nikola Topic, in his second NBA game, closed the door in the final frame with playmaking, shooting and smooth finishing at the rim. For coach Mark Daigneault, the Thunder's theme is a traditional pure point guard with a pass-first mentality, and the confidence to score when he sees fit.
Daigneault says Topic is proof of what's missing in the NBA modern day point guard During the Thunder head coach's postgame media availability on Friday.
"There aren't a lot of real pure point guards in basketball anymore. There's incredible skill, but there's not a ton of traditional team runners, those guys, and that's it: He can run your team," Daigneault said. “He'll settle you down to ground level. He understands what we're trying to achieve, even at this very early stage of his career, and he's got the ability to go along with it.
"He's still got a long way to go. Offensively he's got a lot to learn in terms of getting the edge, reading different coverages that he's going to see as the league gets to know him a little bit; it'll be a new challenge for him. But he's off to a great start."
Topic finished with nine points, three rebounds and two assists in 11 minutes, as the rookie guard is finding his feet in the early stages of his career. Still, Daigneault feels his team will benefit from the influence of both McCann and Topic amid the Thunder's title defense.
