Nikola Topic, a projected top-10 pick, has partially torn ACL
Serbian guard Nikola Topic, widely regarded as a potential top-10 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, which is three weeks away, has a partially torn ACL, ESPN NBA Draft analyst Jonathan Givony reported Wednesday.
Topic, 18, was in attendance at the NBA’s international draft combine in Treviso, Italy, where the diagnosis was found in the medical examination process. According to Givony, Topic suffered a knee injury in January, which forced him to miss four months before re-injuring the knee in the Adriatic League playoffs. He told reporters this week that he wasn’t 100 percent healed from his injury nor has he started running or practicing with a basketball.
Topic has been a part of the Crvenda zvezda professional basketball team in Serbia for the last three years, though he was loaned to KK Mega Basket for the majority of 2023-24. He averaged 18.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 12 games with KK Mega Basket last season, shooting 52.3 percent from the floor, 25.9 percent from 3-point range (4.5 3PA; 35.3 3PAr) and 85.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Unlike college players–who had a May 29 deadline–Topic still has until June 16 to make a decision on whether or not he wants to be in this draft, though his agent stated that the injury shouldn’t have a major impact on his draft stock.
“The doctors who checked the stability of the knee confirmed that is in excellent shape,” Misko Raznatovic, his agent, told ESPN Wednesday.
According to NBA Draft Network’s consensus big board, Topic is the No. 3 prospect in the 2024 draft class, ahead of Reed Sheppard, Donovan Clingan, Matas Buzelis and Zaccharie Risacher, respectively. With this news and the potential ramifications, who knows how it truly impacts his stock when draft night arrives three weeks from now.
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