Could Nikola Topic Play Role for OKC Thunder in Playoff Run?

The Thunder rookie has been back on the floor for a couple of months ahead of the postseason tipping off.

Apr 12, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Nikola Topic (44) walks down the court during a game against the Phoenix Suns at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City is set for another playoff run, and one of its reserves could be in for an interesting postseason.

The Thunder’s playoff run is set to begin on Sunday afternoon, and the rotation appears to be in place. With a rather clear hierarchy of players toward the end of the season, the defending champions likely have things sorted out ahead of their title defense.

While the Thunder have a playoff rotation likely figured out, with some wiggle room depending on matchups, some of the players out of the rotation could still find their moments at some point in the postseason. Among those who might be looking for an opportunity, especially in the earlier rounds, is Nikola Topic.

After missing most of the season recovering from a preseason cancer diagnosis, Topic made his debut in February and has split time between the Thunder and Blue throughout his time back on the floor. While he hasn’t been able to spend much time on an NBA floor, he’s still been solid in limited opportunities.

Of course, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see the Thunder keep Topic on the bench in just about every situation. Given that he wasn’t in the rotation in any capacity toward the end of the regular season in the Thunder’s most important contests, it’s expected that he won’t suddenly be playing a role in the postseason.

Still, it remains to be seen exactly how the Thunder view him in terms of a non-rotational player. He could easily follow the path of a couple of players from last postseason. For example, Ajay Mitchell was out of the normal rotation but still played some key minutes in Game 1 of the Finals, but Dillon Jones and Ousmane Dieng were almost always buried at the end of the bench, only entering during garbage time.

Considering what the Thunder’s rotation looks like now, it seems much more likely that Jared McCain, if anyone, would take on that Mitchell-type role. While Topic appears slotted to play only garbage time minutes at this point, there might still be a scenario where Mark Daigneault throws him on the floor.

Considering all of the Thunder’s injury concerns throughout the regular season, there’s no guarantee that their health luck entering the playoffs will hold throughout the entire playoff run. While Topic is still quite low on the list of players who might see some minutes, even with injuries to ball handlers, the Thunder being down to 14 available players throughout the postseason could lead to Topic being thrown into the fire at some point.