OKC Thunder Without Representation Following Late-Stage Cuts

BELGRADE, SERBIA – AUGUST 21: Nikola Topic (R) of Serbia speaks to head coach Svetislav Pesic (L) during the International Basketball Friendly match between Serbia and Slovenia at Belgrade Arena on August 21, 2025 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

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As the NBA’s offseason continues to unfold, one of the most anticipated upcoming milestones is EuroBasket 2025. The 42nd edition of this event, it’s organized by FIBA Europe and held every four years, featuring 24 national teams competing for the continental title. Stars like Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic, along with numerous other active NBA players, will be competing in this year’s event.

The Oklahoma City Thunder entered the summer with a pair of players who had a chance to play at EuroBasket 2025, as Ousmane Dieng (France) and Nikola Topic (Serbia) were part of their respective countries’ national teams.

Dieng was cut from France’s loaded roster earlier this month when the team was trimmed down to 14 players from 18. As for the Topic, Serbia released its final 12-man roster earlier today, and he just missed the cut.

As such, Oklahoma City won’t have any representation at EuroBasket 2025. But that doesn’t mean it’s a failed summer for these two players, as they’ll still have plenty of opportunities to improve ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

Let’s dive into each of these players’ summers and what to expect moving forward.

Nikola Topic

Competing at EuroBasket 2025 would have been an incredible experience for Topic, even if he didn’t get much playing time. Just playing against and alongside — even from the sidelines — some of the best basketball players in the world is valuable in itself.

But since he didn’t make Serbia’s final 12-man roster, Topic will pivot to traditional training and workouts until NBA Training Camp starts in just over a month. Luckily for him, he had the opportunity to play in NBA Summer League for the Thunder, which was his first in-game action since returning to the court following his season-ending knee surgery.

For Topic, minutes in a 5-on-5 setting are the most important experience he can gain right now. While he won’t get that playing for Serbia over the next few weeks, expect to see him on the court quite a bit in Oklahoma City’s preseason games in early October.

Ousmane Dieng

It’s a pivotal upcoming campaign in OKC for Dieng, who will be playing in his fourth NBA season. He has yet to log 1500 minutes in his three seasons and has scored less than 500 points. The former lottery pick has certainly shown some interesting flashes, but as the Thunder has risen to a contender, he’s effectively fallen out of the regular rotation.

That could all change this season, but he won’t be able to get additional experience at EuroBasket 2025, which would have been a potential confidence booster. He also didn’t participate in NBA Summer League, given his experience, so he will enter the 2025-26 campaign with a full offseason or personal work under his belt.

If Dieng isn’t able to break out next season, or at least carve out a real role in the rotation, his time in Oklahoma City may come to an end by this time next year, if not earlier. He’s entering the final season of his rookie contract before entering restricted free agency next summer, so don’t be surprised if he’s moved at the trade deadline if he hasn’t risen to the occasion.

Although the Oklahoma City Thunder won’t have any representation at EuroBasket 2025, both Ousmane Dieng and Nikola Topic got reps with top-tier talent leading up to the actual event, which is still valuable. Next, they’ll look ahead to training camp, which will begin late next month.