Tag: Indiana Pacers

Victor Oladipo is asking NBA general managers for another opportunity, drawing on a career shaped by faith, family, injury, perseverance and an enduring love of basketball.

Oladipo’s basketball journey began with a dream his mother had while pregnant with him and his twin sister in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in 1992. In that dream, Hakeem Olajuwon gave her an autographed basketball. For Oladipo’s deeply spiritual Nigerian immigrant family, the vision felt like a message that one of her children was meant to play basketball.

His parents were not athletes. They believed education and hard work would create opportunities for their children, rather than basketball. But Oladipo fell in love with the sport by watching his older sister play, staying up late to watch the Bulls and Lakers in the NBA Finals, and imitating Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and his sister on his uncle’s driveway hoop.

When he began showing real ability, basketball started to feel like destiny.

Oladipo’s NBA draft night dream

On the night of the 2013 NBA Draft, Oladipo was 21 and waiting to hear where his career would begin. His agent gave him a prediction: “Hey Vic, it’s gonna be you at #2 to Orlando.”

Oladipo tried to hide his excitement from the television cameras as he reflected on the sacrifices his parents had made, including his father working three jobs and his mother attending nursing school. He also remembered the doubts surrounding his offensive game and the limited resources available to him while growing up.

Then NBA commissioner David Stern announced, “…..with the second pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, the Orlando Magic select Victor Oladipo, of Indiana University.”

After completing his media obligations, Oladipo walked backstage to meet his family. His mother appeared frantic, and his twin sister pointed toward Hakeem Olajuwon. Olajuwon was attending Stern’s final draft as commissioner because he had been the first pick Stern announced.

Oladipo’s mother told Olajuwon about her pregnancy dream. He then autographed a basketball for her, exactly as he had in the dream.

That became the defining moment of Oladipo’s first night in the NBA.

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

From Orlando to Indiana

Oladipo spent his first NBA seasons adjusting to a new position and an unsettled situation in Orlando. He had played power forward in high school and only moved to guard in college, where he was not primarily a point guard. The Magic asked him to run the point immediately, adding another major adjustment to the beginning of his professional career.

Orlando endured losing seasons and multiple head coaches before Oladipo was traded to Oklahoma City. He was traded again the following summer. Despite the instability, he views those early years positively, believing the difficulties and perceived failures became important building blocks for his future.

His first season with the Indiana Pacers felt different. Lessons from his turnovers in Orlando helped him become a better ball handler and passer, improve his understanding of spacing and change speeds more effectively. He also learned from playing alongside Russell Westbrook during Westbrook’s MVP season.

When Indiana told him, “Vic, it’s your team,” Oladipo embraced the responsibility and opportunity.

The connection between Oladipo and Indiana quickly became powerful. He described himself as an emotional player who feeds off connection and energy, and he credited the city, state and fans with helping him reach new heights.

During the Pacers’ 2018 playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana trailed 3-2 before Game 6 at home. A Cavaliers fan spotted Oladipo at a movie theater and told him, “HEY BRO. Y’ALL ARE GOING HOME TOMORROW NIGHT.”

Oladipo shouted back, “NO WE AIN’T!!!!! NO WE AIN’T!!!!!”

He then delivered one of the best games of his career, recording a triple-double while matching LeBron James basket for basket. Indiana defended its home court and forced a Game 7.

Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images

Injuries changed Oladipo’s career

Oladipo’s time in Indiana was interrupted when he ruptured his quadriceps tendon. The injury came after the best season of his career: he made his first All-Star team, received MVP votes, won the Most Improved Player award and helped the Pacers finish fifth in the Eastern Conference before pushing Cleveland to the limit.

He underwent surgery and spent a year rehabbing before returning shortly before the coronavirus pandemic. He played in the NBA bubble but said he felt as though he was operating on one leg, with pressure on his knee causing severe pain even as he was told everything appeared to be fine.

The prolonged recovery affected his confidence and mental health. After he was traded by Indiana in January 2021, nearly two years after the injury, he said he had reached an emotional low.

In 2023, while playing for Miami, Oladipo tore his patellar tendon. He now views that injury as a turning point. Rather than continuing to chase the player and team he had nearly become in Indiana, he believes the setback forced him to slow down, recover properly and build something real.

Over the past three years, Oladipo has focused on rehabilitation, training and therapy. He acknowledged that professional basketball players are taught to invest enormous emotional energy in the sport, which can make it difficult to cope when the game no longer seems to love them back.

Despite the pain of the past eight years, Oladipo says he has found renewed faith, perspective and purpose. He believes it is time to play basketball again.

Jessica Foley for The Players’ Tribune

A second dream and an NBA comeback bid

Oladipo’s second dream is about his four-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Naomi, whom he calls Nomi. Unlike his mother’s dream, it is not about what his daughter is destined to accomplish. It is about the kind of person he wants her to believe she can become.

He does not want her to see only the version of him who last appeared on an NBA court at 30, struggling with his body and mind. He also does not want her to see only the 21-year-old who stood beside David Stern on draft night or the 25-year-old who battled LeBron James in the playoffs.

Instead, Oladipo wants Nomi to see the current version of her father at 34: someone who was knocked down repeatedly, kept climbing and never quit. He says he has maintained his faith and purpose despite being counted out and laughed at by some people.

Oladipo believes his body is finally healthy and that he still has high-level, winning basketball ahead of him. He also believes he can contribute meaningfully to an NBA locker room. His request to NBA front offices is simple: an opportunity to prove it.

He hopes his daughter will return to this chapter of his life when she faces difficult times. He wants her to understand that strength includes both perseverance and the willingness to show vulnerability.

Oladipo does not know whether an NBA team will give him another chance. But he says his basketball story, from its first page to its last, will always be a love story.