Misko Raznatovic, the agent for Thunder guard Nikola Topic, shared an update on his client, telling the Serbian-based outlet Arena Sport TV that Topic has successfully completed chemotherapy to treat his testicular cancer, per Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman.
“The chemotherapy was successfully completed, and he is now returning to the training process, although he was active during the therapy as well,” Raznatovic said. “It’s hard to pinpoint a timeline, but I sincerely hope he gets minutes this year, not only in the G League but on the NBA floor as well, if everything goes the way it is right now.”
Word broke in October that Topic, a 2024 lottery pick who missed his entire rookie season due to an ACL injury, had been diagnosed with testicular cancer and was undergoing treatment. As Raznatovic acknowledges, there’s still no timeline for the 20-year-old to make his NBA debut, but this is a major positive development.
We have more from around the Northwest:
- The Trail Blazers intend to present a proposal to the Oregon state legislature next month to have all state income taxes from players and team employees (for both the Blazers and visiting teams) redirected from Oregon’s general fund to a $600MM renovation project for the Moda Center, reports Bill Oram of The Oregonian (subscription required). One source who spoke to Oram about the proposal suggested it would help “guarantee the Blazers’ future” in Portland.
- Nuggets forward/center Zeke Nnaji hasn’t developed like the team hoped since signing a four-year, $32MM contract extension in October 2023, but with centers Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas sidelined, Nnaji has been giving the team solid minutes at the five, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Nnaji, who has five steals and six blocked shots in his past three games, is playing “amazing” defense, according to teammate Jamal Murray — head coach David Adelman didn’t disagree. “I don’t remember him moving this well,” Adelman said after Wednesday’s win over Boston. “…He guarded everybody in this game, because we were switching. Just cool to see him have some success. Obviously, he hasn’t been in the rotation.”
- The streaking Timberwolves have won four games in a row and now hold a top-four spot in the Western Conference. In a pair of stories for The Athletic, Jon Krawczynski examines the impact of center Rudy Gobert, writing that the big man is playing as well as he ever played in Minnesota, and notes that Anthony Edwards reached the 10,000-point mark on Thursday. Edwards was the third-youngest player in NBA history to reach that plateau, behind only LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
- Two-way player Elijah Harkless has appeared in just seven games for the Jazz so far this season and hasn’t seen any NBA action since November 18, but he has been thriving in the G League. Harkless was named the NBAGL’s Player of the Month for December after he averaged 28.3 points and 5.2 assists per game, per the league (Twitter link).