By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
With both sides missing key players, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, who remained sidelined for the Milwaukee Bucks with a right calf strain, French forward Ousmane Dieng recorded his first career double-double against his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. His performance helped the Bucks win 110–93 at Paycom Center.
Beyond one-way traffic toward the outcome of Thursday’s game, the highlight was the NBA debut of Serbian guard Nikola Topic following his return from an assignment with the G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.
The 12th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft presented by State Farm had already sat out the Thunder‘s 2024–25 championship run due to a torn ACL. He was prepared to begin his 2025–26 journey before being diagnosed with testicular cancer during the preseason. His first appearance was met with a standing ovation from both the fans and the players on the floor, drawing significant postgame praise.
A standing ovation for Nikola Topić 👏
The 12th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft is making his NBA debut for the @okcthunder tonight!
Tap to watch: https://t.co/H43cOyWuWn pic.twitter.com/J72f4kQMiN
— NBA (@NBA) February 13, 2026
In 12:22 of action, 20-year-old Topic went for two points on 1/3 shots, one assist, and one rebound, and also committed three turnovers.
“He’s in the infant stages of returning to full game shape,” noted head coach Mark Daigneault in a postgame press conference. “What chemotherapy does to your body is really remarkable. It’s crazy what it does to you physically. The road back from that is different for everybody, and it’s highly challenging.”
“I don’t ever want to try and say that I can fully understand or comprehend everything he’s been through,” added teammate Chet Holmgren. “With my situations, I was fighting to get back to my career. Anybody who’s battling cancer is fighting for their life, and I could never begin to understand what that’s like.”
Formerly a Thunder player over his first four NBA years, 22-year-old Dieng started for the Bucks. Ending up with 19 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, four blocks, and one steal, he pushed his new team to 23-30 and dropped the hosts to 42-14 in the Regular Season before the All-Star break.
With the Greek Freak remaining on the injury report, his brother Alex stayed with the Wisconsin Herd, but Thanasis grabbed one rebound in 3:10.
For the Thunder, German Isaiah Hartenstein (right soleus injury management) was ruled out, while Belgian Ajay Mitchell (abdominal strain) missed his 11th straight game.