By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Heading to Round 8 of the 2025-26 EuroLeague Regular Season, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet learned that Nikola Topic has testicular cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy.
The 20-year-old point guard played for the Belgrade outfit before being drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2024.
“Nikola, stay strong and get well soon! We are all together with you. Your Red and White Family,” reacted Zvezda in a post shared on X.
Топе, уз тебе смо! Буди јак и победи и у овој утакмици, која је најважнија до сада. Уз тебе је твоја црвено-бела породица! 🙏🏻
Nikola, stay strong and get well soon! We are all together with you. Your Red and White Family pic.twitter.com/9lg6lfnYQu
— KK Crvena zvezda Meridianbet (@kkcrvenazvezda) October 30, 2025
Following a successful team outing against Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv in Belgrade’s Aleksandar Nikolic Hall later Thursday, head coach Sasa Obradovic dedicated the win to Topic.
“The news about Nikola Topic shook us. This victory is for him. Sincere wishes for a speedy recovery,” said the 56-year-old play-caller in the post-game press conference.
“We want to send him support,” added 33-year-old combo forward Nikola Kalinic, “From me personally and from the whole team, we wish him to fight through and come back.”
Banking in a sixth EuroLeague win in a row, and eighth straight across all competitions, the team coached by Obradovic improved to 6-2 at the continental level. In Round 9, the next game is versus Panathinaikos Aktor in Belgrade Arena on Wednesday. At 2-1 in Group B of the AdmiralBet ABA League, a clash with Spartak Office Shoes in Subotica’s Hala Sportova will take place on Sunday.
A youth product of the storied Serbian club, Topic debuted with the senior squad in 2022 and had several loan assignments before a brief reunion in 2024. In his return, he suffered a knee injury, forcing him to sit out the entire 2024-25 championship run of the Oklahoma City Thunder.