Thunder’s Nikola Topic Available To Make NBA Debut Thursday
Nikola Topic is not on the Thunder‘s injury report for Thursday’s game vs. Milwaukee, which means he’ll be active to potentially make his NBA regular season debut, notes Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman (subscriber link).
The 12th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Topic missed the entire 2024/25 season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee. The Serbian point guard participated in 2025 Summer League, training camp, and part of the preseason prior to being diagnosed with testicular cancer.
Topic’s agent, Misko Raznatovic, announced at the beginning of January that his client had successfully completed chemotherapy to treat his cancer. Topic made his G League debut on Monday and played in the second of a back-to-back on Tuesday, averaging 14.5 points, 5.5 assists and 1.0 steal on .588/.556/.667 shooting in 17.9 minutes per game.
As Martinez writes, Topic will likely be on a minutes restriction on Thursday, but there’s a decent chance he could play with the Thunder shorthanded; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain), Jalen Williams (hamstring strain) and Ajay Mitchell (abdominal strain, left ankle sprain) are all injured.
More importantly, Thursday represents a significant milestone in the 20-year-old’s recovery from a serious illness.
And-Ones: Wilson, 2026 Draft, Cunningham, Summer League
North Carolina star Caleb Wilson has been diagnosed with a fracture in his left hand, the school announced in a press release. A timeline for the freshman big man’s return has not yet been established.
Wilson, who sustained the injury in the first half of Tuesday’s loss at Miami (FL), has been one of the most productive players in college basketball, averaging 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks in 31.3 minutes per game across 24 appearances.
A 19-year-old forward/center, Wilson is ranked No. 4 on the latest big board from Jeremy Woo of ESPN. According to Woo, while the consensus top three prospects for the 2026 draft continue to be Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer, some talent evaluators believe Wilson has a chance to be selected in the top three, depending on how things shake out over the next handful of months.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- The three biggest risers among Woo’s top 25 prospects are Illinois guard Keaton Wagler (No. 6; was No. 25), Arizona guard Brayden Burries (No. 17; was No. 41) and Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson (No. 19; was No. 38). As for players trending in the opposite direction, Woo points to Arizona forward/center Koa Peat (No. 16; was No. 8) and Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance (No. 18; was No. 9). As Woo explains, while Peat has several positive attributes, there are question marks about his shooting, rim protection and size. Quaintance, meanwhile, has been shut down indefinitely due to knee swelling after tearing his ACL last March.
- Pistons star Cade Cunningham has purchased a minority stake in the Texas Rangers, he tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The former No. 1 overall pick, who will make his second consecutive All-Star appearance this weekend, is a native of Arlington, Texas, where the MLB is based.
- The primary Summer League event will be held in Las Vegas again this year, the NBA announced on Wednesday (via Twitter). The games will be held from July 9-19.
Thunder’s Jalen Williams Reinjures Right Hamstring
Jalen Williams excelled in his second game back from a leg injury but apparently didn’t come away unscathed.
The Thunder‘s second-leading scorer aggravated the same injury that sidelined him for 10 games, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. Williams will be reevaluated after the All-Star break.
Williams sat out 10 games due to a right hamstring strain. He made a strong comeback on Monday, posting 23 points in 24 minutes against the Lakers. Williams was even more effective on Wednesday, racking up 28 points, five assists and four rebounds in just 20 minutes as Oklahoma City blew out Phoenix.
The 2025 All-Star and All-NBA Third Team selection has been limited to 26 games this season, averaging 17.5 points, 5.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 29 minutes per contest.
Dillon Brooks To Serve One-Game Suspension
Suns forward Dillon Brooks has been suspended one game without pay for receiving his 16th technical foul, according to the league office.
Under NBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended without pay for one game once he receives his 16th technical foul during a regular season. For every two additional technical fouls received during that regular season, the player or coach will be automatically suspended without pay for an additional game.
Brooks received his most recent technical foul with 6:37 remaining in the second quarter of the Suns’ 136-109 loss to the Thunder on Wednesday. Brooks will serve his suspension Feb. 19 when the Suns play at San Antonio in their first game after the All-Star break.
The Lakers’ Luka Doncic (13), the Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart (12) and the Warriors’ Draymond Green (11) are the other players in double digits in technicals this season. Stewart is currently serving a seven-game suspension for his participation in the Pistons-Hornets brawl this week.
Players’ technical foul counts reset when the postseason begins.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Won’t Play In All-Star Contest; Fox Chosen As Replacement
Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t play in the All-Star Game on Sunday, according to the Bucks (Twitter link).
The news comes as no surprise, since the star forward hasn’t played since suffering a right calf strain on Jan. 23. Antetokounmpo was chosen to play for World Team in the new three-team format.
Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox has been selected by commissioner Adam Silver as his replacement, the league announced (Twitter link), but Fox won’t join the World Team. Rather, he’ll play for the USA Stripes group while the Heat‘s Norman Powell will be reassigned to the World Team. Powell has ties to Jamaica.
According to the Bucks, Antetokounmpo will help coach the All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday and then cheer on his World teammates on Sunday. The perennial All-Star, who is averaging 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5.6 assists this season, had been the subject of trade rumors leading up last week’s deadline.
His availability to Milwaukee, which currently sits 12th in the Eastern Conference, is another matter of intrigue. The Bucks could make a push for a play-in spot when he’s ready to go but it’s also possible they may limit his availability or even shut him down in order to improve their lottery chances.
Fox will be making his second All-Star appearance — his first came in 2023 with Sacramento. The veteran guard is averaging 19.4 points, 6.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 32.0 minutes per game while appearing in 45 contests.
He’ll give San Antonio, the team sitting in second place in the West, another All-Star representative along with Victor Wembanyama. The Stripes team will be coached by the Spurs’ Mitch Johnson.
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 2/12/2026
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included the new-look Cavaliers, the Hornets' surge and Charles Lee's Coach of the Year chances, the NBA's options to limit tanking, whether Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kawhi Leonard is more likely to be traded and more!
Ace Bailey, Bub Carrington, Jahmir Young Added To Rising Stars Event
Jazz forward Ace Bailey, Wizards guard Bub Carrington and Heat guard Jahmir Young have been selected to participate in Friday’s Rising Stars competition as injury replacements, the NBA announced in a series of tweets.
Bailey will replace Mavericks star Cooper Flagg, who is unavailable due to a left midfoot sprain, while Carrington will take the place of his Wizards teammate, Alex Sarr, who is sidelined by a strained hamstring. Young will fill in for Bulls guard Mac McClung, who is out with a right calf injury.
Bailey will be part of Team Melo, coached by Carmelo Anthony, Carrington will be on Team T-Mac, coached by Tracy McGrady, and Young is on Team Austin, coached by Austin Rivers.
Selected with the fifth pick in last year’s draft, Bailey is part of a talented rookie class throughout the league. The 19-year-old has appeared in 48 games, making 37 starts, and is averaging 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 26.2 minutes per night with .449/.343/.708 shooting numbers.
Carrington, 20, was the 14th pick in the 2024 draft. He hasn’t missed a game in his NBA career and is averaging 10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists in his second season with .402/.393/.761 shooting splits.
Young has spent most of the season in the G League and has only appeared in eight games with Miami. The 25-year-old is averaging 26.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 9.8 assists in 16 regular season games with Sioux Falls.
The Rising Stars event will match three teams consisting of NBA rookies and sophomores, along with a fourth team of G League players. They will compete in a three-game tournament to crown the winner.
Jaren Jackson Jr. To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
Jaren Jackson Jr. will have surgery to remove a localized pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) growth in his left knee and will miss the remainder of the season, the Jazz announced in a press release.
The team states that the growth was identified in an MRI during a physical after Jackson was acquired in a trade with Memphis last week. The procedure is expected to take place during the All-Star break.
Jackson appeared in three games with Utah, averaging 22.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 24 minutes per night. The Jazz went 2-1 with him in their lineup.
Utah acquired Jackson to be part of a supersized frontcourt for the future alongside Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler. Jackson and Markkanen are both under contract for the next three seasons, with Jackson holding a $53.5MM player option for 2029/30. Kessler is considered likely to be re-signed this summer as he approaches restricted free agency.
Jackson is a two-time All-Star and was selected as Defensive Player of the Year in 2022/23. He has been named to the All-Defensive team three times and has twice led the NBA in blocks during a season.
The Jazz will convey this year’s first-round pick to Oklahoma City if it falls outside the top eight, so even before Jackson’s health issue surfaced there was an expectation that his playing time would be limited for the next couple months — the team has been sitting him and Markkanen during the fourth quarters of games since the trade deadline.
Undergoing the operation now should ensure that Jackson will be fully healthy in time for training camp in the fall. Utah currently has the sixth-worst record in the league at 18-37.
Mavericks Notes: Cuban, Ownership, New Arena, Middleton
After reporting on Wednesday that the Dumont and Adelson families have no interest in selling the Mavericks back to Mark Cuban, Marc Stein of The Stein Line (subscription required) sheds some light on Cuban’s diminishing role with the franchise. Cuban was brought back to the inner circle of decision makers after former general manager Nico Harrison was fired in November, but sources tell Stein that his influence has already started to wane.
Co-interim GMs Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley were solely responsible for the decision to trade Anthony Davis to Washington last week, according to Stein. He also hears that Riccardi addressed the players on Saturday to explain the trade deadline moves and set expectations for the remainder of the season.
Stein notes that the 2023 sale agreement gives the Dumonts and Adelsons an option — believed to be in effect through December of 2027 — to buy more of Cuban’s shares in the franchise and reduce his minority stake from 27% to as low as 7%. Stein adds that the families’ strong public denial of sale rumors could be interpreted as a message to Cuban to be more careful in his public comments.
Cuban told Stein on Wednesday that he hasn’t talked with team governor Patrick Dumont recently, but stated that he has received calls from “individuals, groups, financial people, you name it” who expressed interest in getting involved if the opportunity arises to repurchase the team.
There’s more from Dallas:
- It’s unlikely that the Adelsons would consider selling the Mavericks at any price, writes Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). Although they recognize it could take several years, the family bought the team with the vision of linking it to their casino business and they want to be ready if gambling is ever legalized in Texas.
- The Mavericks have reached an agreement with CAA Sports to handle their commercial strategy for a planned new arena, the team announced in a press release. The effort will focus on finding “world class brands” for naming rights and other opportunities. “We have an ambitious vision for the future of the Dallas Mavericks,” CEO Rick Welts said. “The opportunity ahead of us is significant. CAA Sports brings global expertise, deep industry relationships and a strong track record of delivering transformational partnerships for top echelon sports properties. They are the right teammate as we move into this next chapter.”
- There’s been speculation that Khris Middleton may be a buyout candidate after being acquired from Washington in the Davis deal, but coach Jason Kidd likes having him on the roster, per Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. Middleton came off the bench to contribute 13 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes on Tuesday in his Mavericks debut. “Some would say he was a throw-in,” said Kidd, who formerly coached Middleton in Milwaukee. “He’s a lot bigger than you think. He can post. He can shoot it. For me, it was exciting to be able to work with Khris early on in his basketball journey. He did all the hard work. When we got him, he was our best player at the time. Giannis (Antetokounmpo) not that far behind.”
Alex Sarr To Miss Two Weeks With Hamstring Strain
Alex Sarr has suffered a hamstring strain that will sideline him for roughly two weeks, the Wizards announced (via Twitter). That means Sarr won’t be available for Friday’s Rising Stars game at All-Star Weekend.
Sarr was held out of Wednesday’s loss at Cleveland with hamstring tightness. He also didn’t play last Saturday at Brooklyn.
The 20-year-old big man is having a productive second NBA season, averaging 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 41 games. He has established himself as a foundational piece in Washington after being selected with the second pick in the 2024 draft and finishing fourth in last year’s Rookie of the Year race.
Because Sarr’s injury occurred just before the All-Star break, he’ll have a full week to rest before the Wizards play again. Their next game is February 19 at home against Indiana.
Washington will be focused more on maximizing the value of its draft pick rather than trying to win over the next two months, so there’s no incentive to bring back Sarr before he’s fully recovered. The Wizards hold the league’s second-worst record at 14-39 heading into the break, and their first-round pick is top-eight protected.
Tristan Vukcevic also missed Wednesday’s game with an illness, so Washington used an extremely small starting lineup with no real center. Anthony Davis, who was acquired at last week’s deadline, also didn’t play amid conflicting reports on whether he will be held out for the rest of the season.
Sarr marks the second significant loss for the Rising Stars game in the past 24 hours. The Mavericks announced Wednesday that Cooper Flagg will have to miss the game due to a left midfoot sprain.