Crvena Zvezda brings back an 18-year old star Nikola Topic, who was loaned ahead of this season.
Zvezda brings young star Nikola Topic back from loan
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Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade added an intriguing piece to its backcourt by bring back teenage star Nikola Topic, the club announced on Monday. Topic (1.98 meters, 18 years old) spent the first part of the season with a fellow-Belgrade club Mega MIS, where he starred in the Adriatic League averaging 18.6 points, 6.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds.
Earlier this season, Topic had 21 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds playing against Zvezda, and collected 14 points and 8 assists when he helped Mega to an upset win over Belgrade's other Turkish Airilnes EuroLeague side, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade.
Zvezda had signed a four-year deal with Topic, his first professional contract, during the summer. He spent the past three years in Zvezda's youth system, and has had three brief appearances in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague – one in the 2021-22 season and two during the 2022-23 campaign, for a total of 10:23 minutes – but he is yet to score a point in the competition.
An ANGT star
The son of Milenko Topic, a former Zvezda player and coach, the 18-year old Nikola Topic spent the second half of last season on loan at Serbian League side OKK Belgrade. However, he has made the most noise so far in the youth categories.
Last May, Topic was voted to the All-Tournament Team at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals, where in three games he posted 30.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 steals for an average PIR of 39.3. Earlier last season, Topic received the Most Valuable Player award at the ANGT Belgrade event, having posted 26.8 points while shooting 52.9% on three-pointers and going 32-of-33 on free throws (97.0%). He also averaged 3.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 2.0 steals for an average PIR of 33.5. During that tournament, Topic tied the ANGT all-time single-game scoring record with 49 points and tied for third all-time highest PIR mark with a rating of 65 in Zvezda’s group-stage win over NGT Belgrade.
During the summer, Topic led Serbia to a gold medal at the U18 European Championship. He was the MVP of that tournament, too.