Victor Oladipo learns from promising NBA debut
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Assistant Editor
INDIANAPOLIS – Victor Oladipo methodically dressed himself in light gray slacks and a blue collared shirt, grabbed the Holy Bible off his locker shelf and stuffed it into his backpack before finally turning to face the horde of media ready to ask him about his NBA debut, a day Oladipo had dreamed of since he was 5.
Except Oladipo wasn’t smiling. He mumbled his way through a somber Orlando Magic locker room. Part of what made Oladipo the No. 2 pick in the June draft is that he hates losing. And the Magic’s 97-87 defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers started Oladipo’s year off on the wrong foot.
“I would’ve liked to have won,” said Oladipo, who posted 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal in 22:35. He entered to a roaring standing ovation with 5:38 left in the first quarter, checking in for starting shooting guard Arron Afflalo as coach Jacque Vaughn’s first substitution of the night.
“I got a lot of love right there,” Oladipo said of the Hoosiers faithful in attendance. “It was truly a blessing for them to come out here and support me and watch us. I’m grateful and thankful.”
From there, it was a matter of ups and downs, a 3-of-5 performance at the charity stripe and three turnovers with 4-of-11 shooting. Oladipo played primarily as the backup point guard after some early minutes on the wing. A few fans wore No. 5 Magic jerseys. More donned Indiana jerseys with Oladipo’s familiar No. 4 from his college days at Indiana, located an hour south in Bloomington. At times, they had plenty to cheer about, and having them there made Oladipo feel less foreign in a league of strangers.
“It felt good,” Oladipo said. “It was a great atmosphere, with that many fans in there. Overall, it was pretty cool. It was amazing.”
On the floor, Oladipo felt he struggled with when to be aggressive and when he might be playing out of control – getting rejected from behind by Paul George while trying a left-handed layup in transition might count as the latter – but felt opening night was almost too “go, go, go” and that he will able to “pick his spots” better in the future, starting tomorrow night in Minnesota.
“That was my first game,” Oladipo said. “It’s going to take time. I just got here. You’ve just got to learn and have a better pace out there.”
Oladipo’s first professional statistic was a foul, as an official caught him reaching in on George just 8 seconds into Oladipo’s career.
“Once I got a foul, it was like, ‘Woah, woah, wait a second,’” Oladipo said. “It kind of all sunk in.”
His first points came on his first attempt, an open 3-pointer from the top of the key less than 3 minutes after entering the game. Center Nikola Vucevic passed the ball out and Oladipo launched without hesitation. He didn’t score again until the 4:13 mark of the third quarter. Late in the shot clock, Oladipo wriggled his way down the left side of the lane and was hit in the air close to the rim by Pacers center Ian Mahinmi. Oladipo made both free throws to draw the Magic within 57-56.
“You never know what to expect,” Oladipo said. “I’m just blessed to be here. I thank God for it.”
Seconds later, teammate E’twaun Moore stole a pass from George Hill and threw ahead to Oladipo for an easy, two-hand jam, bringing another rise out of the crowd. With 2:58 left in the third, Oladipo drilled a long jump shot from just inside the arc on the left wing. That pulled Orlando to 62-60 on a night the Magic were surprisingly competitive for much of the game before falling apart in the final period. Oladipo’s fourth and final field goal was a driving layup with 8:15 to play.
Without Oladipo’s efforts, Orlando, coming off a 20-62 season, might have fallen behind the reigning Central Division champions much sooner. Vaughn credited Oladipo for helping the team match up with the Pacers.
“He’s an athlete,” Vaughn said. “He’s been good for us.”
“I’m just going to continue to play hard and remember what got me here,” Oladipo said. “I’ll never forget that. It doesn’t come overnight. It’s not all going to be perfect. It’s not all going to be set in stone. I’ve just got to be patient. It’s frustrating because I want to be great and help my team win so much.”
Not that Oladipo isn’t anxious to get out there again to play better and win.
“The great thing about the NBA is less than 24 hours you’re playing again,” he said. “In college you’d have to wait two more weeks to play another game. It’s the NBA, which I’m fortunate enough to be in.”
Afflalo, with six years of experience in that league, raves about Oladipo’s maturity.
“Victor’s handled everything well,” Afflalo said. “You’ve got to let him go through his own experiences. You tell him to stick to what he does best: his ability to penetrate, his defensive capabilities, his leadership capabilities are all sky-high. He’s a much better shooter than people give him credit for. I think he’ll have an amazing rookie year and continue to grow because of his maturity.”
Orlando general manager Rob Hennigan drafted Oladipo over players with more upside, such as Kansas’ Ben McLemore or Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel, because of the intangibles that aligned with the basketball culture Hennigan is trying to build. Character is almost as important as talent, in Hennigan’s eyes.
“He’s a perfect fit,” Afflalo said of Oladipo. “He’s a very classy kid who works extremely hard, and he loves the game. The combination of those three things makes a good person and a good player, but also a great teammate, someone a franchise can grow with.”
Vaughn agreed that Oladipo is the ideal face of Hennigan’s vision.
“He is filled with enthusiasm,” Vaughn said. “He loves the game of basketball. And I love coaching him. Overall, what we want in the Magic organization are people that want to be in our organization and who want to be great.”
In front of friends, family, fans and college coach Tom Crean, Oladipo showed flashes. Then he solemnly answered the questions, and trotted off with his backpack to speak with Crean once more, as Oladipo had done before the game. All great journeys start somewhere, even with that most of loathsome of events: a loss.
