Victor Oladipo, season in review – Polarizing, yet satisfying
By Gideon Lim
Counting down Victor Oladipo’s best moments this season
5. Clutch 3-pointer in Game 4 against the Rockets:
Fans will remember this game as one where Harden got an avalanche of free throws by faking contact on pick-and-rolls.
Sensing Gordon sticking his hands in too much, Oladipo pulled up from deep with plenty of shot clock left and knocked down the and-1 three.
He thought the referees were extra-sensitive to reach-ins, after Harden’s antics. Had the refs called the foul, the resulting free throw could have pulled the Thunder to within 1. However, the refs failed to blow the whistle and the rest is history.
Still, none of the officiating should take anything away from Oladipo. Despite spending the regular season taking the backseat on possessions in the clutch, Oladipo showed great confidence and basketball IQ on this play.
4. Dipo’s big block against Devin Booker:
On this video, Oladipo showcased some of his highlight reel athleticism and defensive potential. Against a Suns fast break, Oladipo surged from behind the play to knock Devin Booker’s layup attempt out of the way.
A lot of times, when players attempt to get back in transition to challenge the shot, they run directly towards the basket. This makes it easier for opposing players to draw contact.
Instead, Oladipo positioned himself expertly to face the side-lines. This way, he avoided contact with Booker and swatted the ball out for a side-lines in-bounds, rather than a touchline in-bounds. Superb defensive instincts here made it easier for the Thunder to defend the next possession.
3. Dipo takes the stage:
Westbrook rested against the Timberwolves, having clinched his record-breaking 42nd triple-double of the season. The stage was set for Oladipo to run the clock back to his Orlando lead-guard days.
Initially, the Thunder looked like they were going to blow the Pups out of the building. They blazed into an early first-half lead. But, without Westbrook, the Wolves climbed back to take the lead in the fourth-quarter.
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Victor Oladipo’s late heroics started off with his two offensive rebounds and put-back after Norris Cole got swatted at the rim. For a man normally seen as too passive to be an offensive rebounder, those takes were clutch.
Oladipo then finished off the job with a fatal jumper against Ricky Rubio. In light of Westbrook’s absence, Oladipo did an admirable impersonation of the MVP.
2. Serving up a facial:
A picture (or a video in this case) is worth a thousand words. In what should receive looks for Dunks of the Year, Oladipo attacked off the catch as Dwight Howard rose to challenge him.
Instead of shirking or fumbling the ball, Oladipo double-pumped Howard out of the building, before finishing off the delicacy by mashing two-handed over the 3-time Defensive Player of the Year.
The league even compared Oladipo’s poster to the legendary Dominique Wilkins’ dunk over Bob Lanier.
1. All-round play against the Trail Blazers:
At number one is Victor Oladipo’s game against the Trail Blazers and recognize it is an unconventional choice. Most people would have pegged Oladipo’s poster on Howard at number one. Even the NBA nominated it for one its dunks of the year.
That said, in this scribes opinion, Oladipo deserves the most credit for this game, because of his all-round stellar performance.
Against the Trail Blazers, Oladipo did almost everything you could have demanded of him. Attacking the basket off right-sided pindowns. Leading the second unit into a positive point differential by creating looks for Steven Adams, Joffrey Lauvergne and Andre Roberson. Racking up defensive plays through steals, blocks and ball recoveries.
And, not all of these were explicit and noticeable. Some of them were mindset issues which, if Oladipo manages to execute consistently, could propel him to become a real secondary star. He stayed aggressive on transition baskets instead of waiting for Westbrook to generate offense for him. He used pump-fakes to get to the charity stripe, instead of hoping his jumpers fall in. Most importantly, he used his athleticism on transition in a way Westbrook would have been proud of.