Nikola Topic injury update: When is Serbian star expected to return?

Heading into the 2024 NBA Draft, Nikola Topic is expected to be one of the first players off the board. However, the international prospect recently suffered an injury that might impact his stock.

While a majority of prospects are in Chicago for the draft combine, Topic is still playing competitively overseas. ESPN's Jonathan Givony reported that he suffered a sprained knee recently that will put him on the sidelines.

One positive note is that Nikola Topic's injury does not appear to be that serious. As of now, he is expected to be a participant in pre-draft events next month.

Topic, who will turn 19 in August, is one of the top international prospects in the upcoming class. He is a 6'6 versatile forward out of Serbia. Across 12 matchups for Mega Basket this season, Topic averaged 18.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 7.1 assists.

The Serbian prospect has roughly six weeks to recover from this injury before the NBA draft. This year, the event will take place over two days on June 26 and 27 at Barclays Center.

Where has Nikola Topic landed in recent mock drafts?

Still weeks away from the NBA draft, there is a lot of parody about how things will play out. French prospect Alex Sarr is widely regarded as the top pick, but after that, anything could happen.

Among the prospects who have been scattered all over mock drafts is Nikola Topic. He has never fallen out of the top ten, but various outlets have him coming off the board at different spots.

The most common pick Nikola Topic has been selected in mocks is No. 4. This would have him going to the San Antonio Spurs to join forces with Rookie of the Year winner Victor Wembanyama.

There have been some outlets that value Topic highly. In some cases, he's come off the board at No. 2 to the Washington Wizards. This would be an interesting situation for Topic, as Washington is currently in a state of limbo. While they've been in the lottery, they have two veterans in their prime, Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole.

The lowest Topic has dropped in the mock draft is No. 7 to the Portland Trail Blazers. Falling this far would allow him to join the young core headlined by former lottery picks Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe.

Seeing that his knee injury isn't expected to keep him sidelined long, Topic will likely still be among the top picks come draft night.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback

Quick Links

More from Sportskeeda