Nikola Topić, Ajay Mitchell lead OKC Thunder past Philadelphia 76ers in NBA Summer League
The OKC Thunder earned an 89-78 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday in its second game of the Salt Lake City Summer League. Here are takeaways.
The OKC Thunder has plenty of new names on the back of its jerseys for NBA Summer League, but the one on the front is still the same.
OKC earned an 89-78 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday in Salt Lake City, and it played the same brand of basketball as its championship-winning counterpart. The Thunder forced 21 turnovers and converted them into 34 points.
Nikola Topić orchestrated OKC's lethal transition offense. He finished with 11 points and five assists in 28 minutes. Ajay Mitchell also added 16 points, five rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes.
"It's really important," Mitchell said of OKC's defense. "We put a big emphasis on that throughout the whole training camp, and then in every game we try to get better on defense and be a team defense. That's what we do."
OKC will finish its Salt Lake City Summer League run with a game against the Utah Jazz at 8 p.m. CT Tuesday. It'll then play a minimum of five games in the Las Vegas Summer League.
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Nikola Topić's court vision is NBA ready
Malevy Leons didn't need to clap his hands as he stood unguarded in the corner midway through the second quarter.
Topic already knew he was open. And after driving into the heart of the defense, the 19-year-old guard delivered an over-the-shoulder dime to his teammate.
Leons' 3-pointer clanked off the rim, and it was Topic who found himself clapping his hands in disappointment after the missed highlight.
There were a few of those on Monday. Despite only finishing with a modest five assists, Topic showcased his strong court vision throughout the game with plenty of passes that led to clean looks.
He showed poise in transition. He shredded the defense with sharp passes. He even got fancy on a few finds.
Topic's passing prowess is a large part of what makes him such a promising prospect. The next step in his development is becoming a more consistent shooter. He went 2 for 13 from the field (15.4%) and 0 for 6 from deep in the winning effort.
Brooks Barnhizer's 3-point shot is still a work in progress
Brooks Barnhizer has the makings of a fan favorite in OKC.
Thunder basketball is centered around playing strong defense. That's fine by Barnhizer, who made the 2024 All-Big Ten Defensive Team at Northwestern and guarded multiple positions with his size and strength.
Thunder basketball is also centered around toughness. Look no further than Barnhizer, who broke his foot last August but worked his way back onto the floor to play 17 games before he re-aggravated the injury in January. He also lost his two front teeth twice during that time.
The potential is there for Barnhizer to be a gritty glue guy for OKC. But one area of his game that needs improving is his 3-point shooting.
Barnhizer shot 31% from deep throughout his four seasons at Northwestern, and he struggled in that department on Monday. The 6-foot-6 forward finished with two points on 0-for-3 shooting from behind the arc.
Ajay Mitchell cooled off after a sizzling Summer League debut
Mitchell entered Summer League in full stride.
After playing in the NBA Finals last month, the sophomore guard ran laps around the competition during OKC's 92-80 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. He racked up 24 points and six assists on 10-for-18 shooting from the field (55.5%).
Mitchell got to his spots at will, scored efficiently and shined as a facilitator. But his second Summer League run on Monday proved to be an uphill battle.
Mitchell still got to his spots, but he went 3 for 11 from the field (27.3%) this time around and recorded five turnovers. He also looked banged up at times after taking a few hard falls and rolling his left ankle.
There's no need to overreact to that stat line. Mitchell continues to display a great feel for the game, and the 23-year-old guard is sure to be a part of OKC's rotation next season.
The future is bright for Mitchell, who was selected by the Thunder in the second round (No. 38 overall) of the 2024 draft. He began on a two-way contract, and he recently signed a three-year deal that's worth nearly $9 million.
VJ Edgecombe was a late scratch for 76ers
The biggest name in the Salt Lake City Summer League is Philadelphia rookie VJ Edgecombe.
The 6-5 guard entered the event with plenty of hype after Philadelphia selected him with the third pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. His stock then spiked again after he recorded 28 points and 10 rebounds in a 93-89 loss to Utah on Saturday.
That set the stage for an exciting showdown on Monday, but Edgecombe was a late scratch due to a thumb contusion. The injury is not considered serious, according to The Athletic's Tony Jones, and Edgecombe will be day-to-day going forward.
Up next for Thunder
OKC will finish its Salt Lake City Summer League run with a game against Utah at 8 p.m. CT Tuesday (NBA TV). It'll then play a minimum of five games in the Las Vegas Summer League.
Justin Martinez covers sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @Justintohoops. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Nikola Topić, Ajay Mitchell lead Thunder past 76ers in Summer League
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