Amongst prospects in this draft, it would be difficult to find a player more potent at getting into the paint and scoring than Nikola Topic. His finishing at the rim is elite, as he has world-class body control and touch. He’s strong enough to finish through contact, but is also flexible and acrobatic enough to contort around shot blockers at the rim. He has an array of finishes using either hand that he uses to counter defenders, making him extremely difficult to slow down after he gets to the rim. He's also elite at getting to the line and drawing fouls.

Topic’s pull-up game is constantly improving, even if he’s not knocking down his shots at an impressive rate. I expect this to change; however, it is his creativity in the mid-range that has me so hopeful about this area of his game. His tight handle helps him create space to get his shots off in this area, but he also has great touch on his runners and floaters, which helps keep defenses on their toes.

While his percentages from beyond the arc need to come up, Topic has a good, repeatable shooting form that needs little-to-no adjustments. His FT% is a good indicator that he can develop into AT LEAST an average shooter at the NBA-level, but surpassing that level will help him become increasingly more effective against stronger competition.

While still 18 until draft, Topic’s control of the game evokes images of an aged vet. Despite being explosive on his drives to his rim, Topic plays with an eerie calmness, controlling the pace of an offense and dismantling a defense without being forced into making bad decisions. A maestro with the ball in his hands, the way he controls an offense using his ball handling and offensive IQ is incredibly fun to watch. He’s a floor general with the ball handling skills and control to match. In addition to using his handle to create for others, he’s also able to create for himself and get to the rim at all.

Topic’s skillset shines with the ball in his hand. As a result, his impact is often tied to his usage. This, coupled with a (currently) below-average perimeter shot, severely limits Topic’s effectiveness without the ball in his hand. Using Topic off-ball would be a detriment to his development and a severe mishandling of his skillset.

As mentioned earlier, Topic’s control of the game is amazing to watch. After dismantling defenses, he’s able to make tight passes to open shooters on the perimeter or use his length to wrap passes around defenders. His height allows him to see over defenders from the wing, giving him vision over the entire half court. His decision-making with the ball in his hands is elite, too, as he avoids making unnecessary mistakes.