ESPN Insider Reveals Bold Assessment of OKC Thunder Rookie

Bobby Marks has high praise for Nikola Topic from one NBA scout who made a bold claim about the Oklahoma City Thunder rookie.

Nikola Topic is pictured during the Thunder media day at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. | NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder selected Nikola Topic No. 12 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft. After a year of rehabbing a torn ACL, Topic finally stepped on the floor for the Thunder during NBA Summer League.

Before that knee injury, Topic was viewed as a top-five talent in the 2024 NBA Draft, a well-documented feeling from that draft cycle. Though the 2024 NBA Draft was one of the least talented pool of players –– at the top –– that we have seen in recent years. Whereas the 2025 NBA Draft class is loaded with talent from top to bottom.

At the NBA Summer League, during a broadcast of the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets game at the Thomas and Mack Center, ESPN's Bobby Marks joined the broadcast. The conversation was shifted onto the Thunder rookie, where Marks revealed a bold assessment from a league scout.

"This was after the Utah Summer League, I talked to a scout and I asked him if Topic was in this year's draft where would he got...I had a scout tell me [Topic] would've been a top-five pick in this draft," Marks said.

Considering who was at the top of this year's class names, such as Cooper Flagg, VJ Edgecome, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, Kon Knueppel, Tre Johnson, etc. This is an impressive appraisal of the Thunder rookie.

Though it isn't unreasonable to think that if given the chance, the Hornets would prefer Topic to the Duke sharpshooter. The Brooklyn Nets took Egor Demin at No. 8 in this year's class, who is a worse overall prospect but the same archetype as the Thunder's No. 12 pick from a year ago.

Even after winning their first NBA Championship, the future remains bright in Oklahoma City as the talent level on this roster continues to improve and develop. The Thunder will see a highly thought of prospect in Topic and the No. 15 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Thomas Sorber, debut in October.