Draft Preview: Nikola Topić Could Be Offensive Game-Changer for the Raptors

Nikola Topić looks like the kind of offensive basketball wizard who could help radically transform how the Toronto Raptors look next season

May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri represents his team / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

It’s not hard to look at Nikola Topić and see a player who would fit perfectly with the Toronto Raptors.

For one, he’s a 6-foot-6, 18-year-old point guard with an exceptional feel for the game and a hefty bag of offensive tricks. He playmakes like few others in this year’s class and seems to constantly be in control of his team’s offensive tempo. There’s an easiness to how Topić plays and for a Raptors team that ranked 24th in offense this past year, Topić is the kind of player who can change that.

Then there’s his background.

Topić plays that offensively beautiful brand of Serbian basketball Toronto’s head coach Darko Rajaković is hoping to bring to the organization. It is, of course, too simple to draw a straight line from Topić’s Serbian background to the Raptors, but for an organization that has made ball-movement an offensive priority, Topić is the kind of prospect that would certainly help.

“Perhaps the best pure point guard in this class, Topic has the unique ability to control the pace of a game and has incredible natural feel and basketball IQ,” said Nicholas Crain of FanNation’s NBA draft site. “Whether he needs to distribute to teammates or score on his own, Topic is willing to do whatever his team needs to win.”

Injuries have made it tough to evaluate Topić this year, but when he’s played it’s been easy to see why he’s one of the top players in this year’s class. He’s averaging 18.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 3.7 rebounds across 13 games for Serbia’s Mega MIS of the ABA League.

But there are some questions about Topić too.

His offensive skills help mask his relatively unremarkable athleticism. He’s been able to make it work playing professionally in Serbia, but the NBA is a different beast and opposing players will be able to exploit whatever athletic shortcomings Topić has.

Then there’s his shooting. He’s been remarkably efficient at the free-throw line, shooting 85.9% from the charity stripe, but his three-point stroke has been inconsistent and sits at just 26.6% for the year.

That can create problems if opposing teams opt to wall off Topić’s passing lanes and are willing to let him shoot from behind the arc. To some extent, Scottie Barnes has seen this kind of defense from opposing teams throughout his brief NBA career, but Barnes has been able to make opposing defenses pay thanks to his rare athletic ability.

“While Topić is a reliable scorer, he does go through stretches in which his shot quality is poor or his outside shot is inconsistent,” Crain said. “He also isn’t the most shifty player and lacks elite athleticism, which makes it interesting to project his ability to score in isolation at the next level.”

If Topić develops as a shooter, he’d give Toronto another option as an offensive creator and ball-handler alongside Barnes and Immanuel Quickley who can space the floor and create chaos for opposing defenses.

But Topić’s defensive shortcomings and overlapping skillset with Barnes could make his fit on the Raptors a little awkward. He may not be worth a pick at the very top of the draft, but if the Raptors keep the No. 6 pick, Topić certainly has the profile to pique Toronto’s interest.