Nikola Topić -- the Oklahoma City Thunder first-round draft pick in 2024 -- made his NBA debut four months after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer ... receiving a standing ovation from the crowd!
The powerful moment all went down with under two minutes left in the first quarter of Thursday's contest. Topić was set to inbound the ball when the Paycom Center erupted in cheers for the 20-year-old after his long-awaited return to the court.
A standing ovation for Nikola Topić 👏
The 12th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft is making his NBA debut for the @okcthunder tonight!
Topic tapped his heart in a gesture towards the crowd before inbounding the ball and getting the action back underway. In 12 minutes of action, he scored two points with one assist and one rebound.
Tuesday night in the NBA looked more like Fight Night ... with players in not one, but two games getting feisty on the hardwood, with one hooper having to be restrained all the way through the tunnel to the locker room!
The first scrap of the evening involved the reigning NBA champs (and '26 frontrunners), the Oklahoma City Thunder, who were playing the New Orleans Pelicans. Immediately after the final buzzer sounded ... OKC's Lu Dort andNew Orleans' Jeremiah Fears got into a benches-clearing skirmish, where Dort put up a fist as the two were grabbing each other's jerseys.
Once they were able to separate the two players, members of the Pelicans staff had to hold Fears all the way back to the locker room, with Zion Williamson seeminglylooking to catch up and calm him down.
Nikola Topić -- the Oklahoma City Thunder's first-round draft pick in 2024 -- has been diagnosed with testicular cancer.
General manager Sam Presti announced the news Thursday ... three weeks after Topić underwent a necessary procedure in order for him to have a biopsy, which concluded he had the disease.
Sam Presti gives an injury update on Nikola Topic who has found out he has testicular cancer. Topic’s treatment plan is chemotherapy, which he has started. pic.twitter.com/mShPDo4JnI
Topić has since kick-started his fight against cancer ... and requested the team keep his situation under wraps until he began the chemotherapy process.
The Oklahoma City Thunder unveiled their 2025 NBA championship bling ahead of Opening Night ... and technically, they got two rings in one!!
The champs' new hardware features more than 800 custom-cut gemstones set in 14-karat white and yellow gold. They have diamonds throughout ... as well as blue and orange sapphires to represent the Thunder colors.
First look at the Thunder's championship rings:
14-karat white and yellow gold with blue and orange sapphires. Diamonds with each player's number.
Kevin Durant took his cold reception in Oklahoma City in stride ... clapping back at a fan's jeers ahead of his debut with the Houston Rockets -- telling the spectator, "boo you, too, motherf***er!!"
K.D. -- who played eight seasons for the Thunder -- visited the reigning NBA champs in the season-opening matchup at the Paycom Center on Tuesday ... and even though it's been nine years since he left the organization for the Golden State Warriors, at least one person in attendance wanted to make it clear they haven't forgiven him just yet.
Police in Oklahoma City have arrested a man they say was responsible for the shooting after Game 7 of the NBA Finals, which put a teenager in the hospital.
On Wednesday, OKCPD said they identified their suspect after a handgun was found during a June 24 traffic stop (just a couple of days after the shooting) ... resulting in the arrest of 20-year-old Kaziya Penn. He was initially charged with unlawfully carrying a firearm.
Law enforcement officials test-fired the weapon through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), and they say it matched the same gun used in the June 22 shooting, which occurred shortly after the conclusion of the deciding game between the Thunder and Pacers.
If Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook had stayed together in Oklahoma City, there would be a couple more championship banners hanging in the Paycom Center rafters ... at least, that's according to Serge Ibaka.
The former Thunder center -- who played alongside the trio of future Hall of Famers during their stint in OKC -- told TMZ Sports out at LAX this week he's sure they all would have some more championship bling in the jewelry cases if the team had just found a way to keep everyone together.
While Oklahoma City's on-the-court game is unrivaled, its ability to celebrate sure needs work ... but Alex Caruso assured TMZ Sports this week "the next time" his Thunder squad is in position for some champagne showers, it won't have another letdown.
If you missed it, following OKC's Game 7 NBA Finals victory on Sunday night, the notably young Thunder couldn't quite figure out how to properly douse themselves in bubbly ... and needed a big-time assist from 31-year-old Caruso to even open the bottles.
Caruso (the only previous champ) had to teach the team how to pop champagne 😂🍾 pic.twitter.com/5rhf6RvT4S
The basketball from Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals is already up for grabs ... and anyone looking to own the piece of history better start saving up now!!
The game-used rock from Sunday's Thunder vs. Pacers showdown is set to go on the auction block this week with Sotheby's in New York.
It's a truly one-of-a-kind memorabilia item -- not only does it come from the first NBA Finals Game 7 since 2016, but it was also used in the deciding contest of the Thunder's first championship in franchise history.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took a page out of J.R. Smith's book at the OKC Thunder's championship parade on Tuesday ... stripping off his shirt during the route while introducing fans to the Larry O'Brien trophy!!
The celebration went down in downtown Oklahoma City ... with folks hitting the streets to celebrate after the Thunder's 103-91 victory over the Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
SGA -- who was named NBA Finals MVP -- was hyped to deliver the city's first-ever NBA championship ... and he apparently wasn't digging the 90-degree heat, 'cause he went topless before jumping off the team buses to personally celebrate with supporters.
Tyrese Haliburton underwent surgery on his torn Achilles tendon, which he suffered during game 7 of the NBA Finals ... and despite a smile from the hospital bed, the Indiana Pacers star didn't sugarcoat things, admitting "this s*** sucks."
The two-time All-Star shared a photo from a hospital along with a lengthy, emotional, and real statement ... a day after sustaining the serious injury in the deciding game.
"Man. Don’t know how to explain it other than shock," Haliburton wrote, "Words cannot express the pain of this letdown. The frustration is unfathomable. I’ve worked my whole life to get to this moment and this is how it ends? Makes no sense."
It turns out the Oklahoma City Thunder's toughest matchup of the NBA Finals wasn't the Indiana Pacers -- it was the champagne bottles waiting for them during their championship celebration!!
Footage from the locker room caught a bunch of players learning on the fly how to pop the bubbly for the traditional champagne showers -- and with their roster having an average age of just over 24 years old, it might've been the first time for a few of them!!
The Oklahoma City Thunder are NBA champions ... for the first time in team history!!!
Thunder star and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way in a 103-91 victory for OKC, scoring 29 points in the decisive Game 7 ... played in front of a raucous sell-out crowd at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
The NBA Finals won't end Thursday night ... so says coach Mike Woodson, who tells TMZ Sports he's confident the Indiana Pacers will force a Game 7.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexanderare one win away from their first championship as they head into Game 6 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse ... and if the Pacers don't win, their season is cooked.
Woodson -- who coached the Indiana Hoosiers from 2021 to 2025 -- believes Tyrese Haliburton and Co. can live to see a few more days ... with homecourt advantage being the main factor.
There's one person who might be taking Wednesday night's Game 3 results harder than the actual Oklahoma City Thunder players -- rap mogul Jay-Z, who lost a whopping $1 MILLION after the Indiana Pacers took a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
TMZ Sports reported ahead of the series the 25-time Grammy-winning artist was so confident in OKC's chances against the Eastern Conference champions, he placed the hefty wager through the Fanatics Sportsbook that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. would hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy after five games.
We're sure Hov was sweating just a little bit after Tyrese Haliburton's game-winning shot in Game 1 ... but when the Thunder stormed back the next contest, his bet was looking solid again.
Either the Thunder or the Pacers will earn their first-ever NBA championship this month ... but before the players take the Larry O'Brien Trophy and celebrate the momentous occasion, get acquainted with some of the wives and girlfriends they'll be running off with!!
Tyrese Haliburton's partner, Jade, has already made her presence felt earlier in Indiana's postseason run ... garnering a ton of headlines last month for the way she made a clever pun about her man's big shot against the Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Myles Turner's girlfriend, too, has become quite popular with Indiana fans ... as Aysia Janelle has continuously brought the heat with her amazing Pacers 'fits at games.
