OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault was amazed by rookie Nikola Topic, who he says helped his team earn a 105-86 win against the Brooklyn Nets. Topic finished with nine points and two assists, shutting the door on the Nets in the final frame.
To Daigneault, Topic is one of the NBA’s rare pure point guards, he explained during his postgame media availability, as the Thunder head coach really impressed By playing in Topic’s only second game.
“There aren’t a lot of real pure point guards in basketball anymore. Incredible skill, but traditional team runners, not a ton of them, and that’s what he is: He can run your team. He’ll organize you on the floor. He understands what we’re trying to accomplish, even at this extremely early infant stage of his career, and he has the passing to go 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.”
Mark Daigneault says Nikola Topic is one of the few “pure point guards” left in the NBA: “There aren’t a lot of true pure point guards in basketball anymore…
And that’s what he is: He can run your team. He will settle you to the top. He understands what we’re trying to do… pic.twitter.com/tHcweGPdys
-Joshua Peacock (@Joe_Sway) 21 February 2026
Daigneault put Friday’s performance into perspective, reminding reporters that Topic is still in the early stages of his NBA career, despite the rookie’s impressive debut following an ACL injury and testicular cancer diagnosis.
Daigneault said, “This is his second NBA game. So, it would be unfair to really evaluate him in this context.” “But, he’s obviously a really good player. He has a really good feel for the game. He goes out there and treats it like it belongs to him. He shoots threes. He’s not afraid to drive.”
Subject went 4-for-6 from the floor, including 1-for-2 from deep. He also grabbed three rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench.
Nicola Topic reflects on ‘amazing’ Thunder win
In only his second game, Thunder rookie Nikola Topic helped his team clinch the win by outscoring the Nets in the final frame of a 19-point win at the Paycom Center. Jared McCain’s season-high 21 points off the bench led the Thunder in scoring. However, in his second game, Topic addressed the media in his first postgame press conference of the season.
Topic took time out to thank Thunder fans for their warm embrace during his NBA debut last week.
Topic said, “Amazing moment. I’ll remember this for the rest of my life – thanks to the fans.” “Definitely, I will remember it for the rest of my life.”
Still getting back into the swing of things Topic, who hadn’t played a basketball game in nearly two years, said it took him a while to get used to playing again.
Topic continued, “It was weird at first. I’m just getting back to the game experience again.” “I was out for a while. It was very weird coming back. I was finding myself doing things I had never done before. It was pretty hard to adjust to, but every game was better. The first game in the G League. The second game was better. The first game here was OK. The second was better. But I think it will only get better.”
The Thunder will host the Cavs on Sunday.
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