By John DentonSept. 30, 2015
ORLANDO – Those breathtaking, gasp-worthy moments when Victor Oladipo overwhelms foes with his speed and athleticism and simultaneously drives his Orlando Magic teammates with his unbreakable will leads many in the basketball world to wonder just how high his ceiling is as a player.
Can he ultimately reach the rarified air of star guards such as Steph Curry, Chris Paul, James Harden, Dywane Wade, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, John Wall and Damian Lillard? Can he be great enough with his dazzling blend of talent and drive to make the Magic perennial playoff contenders once again?
Conversely, there is Oladipo’s 42.8 percent career shooting percentage, his less-than-stellar 33 percent accuracy from 3-point range and his occasional turnover troubles – all areas that he has worked to improve this past offseason. Those factors tend to sometimes cloud Oladipo’s sky-is-the limit potential and make those same prospector fans wonder if the guard can ever evolve into an elite player.
Take solace Magic fans and fantasy sports players unsure of just how much Oladipo will continue to climb as a player. Often, Oladipo wonders the very same thing.
``No question, there were always instances where that happened to me this summer,’’ said Oladipo, referring to his own thoughts about his personal potential. ``I think the biggest thing for me is just not looking ahead, staying focused and (remaining) locked in on winning.
``At the end of the day, that’s all that I want to do. I could care less about everything else,’’ Oladipo added. ``I’ve been on a winning team and winning takes care of everything else. It’s all about winning. Winning changes everybody’s mentality and affects everybody’s mood. I’ve been on winning teams, losing teams, average teams and OK teams, but it’s all about winning.’’
Orlando’s chances of winning this season should be enhanced by the addition of head coach Scott Skiles, who has a long history of turning teams around with his insistence on defense and ball sharing. And it’s not like Oladipo has to shoulder an inordinate amount of the load what with fellow franchise fixtures Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris still on board and talented young players Elfrid Payton, Aaron Gordon and Mario Hezonja expected to make strides this season.
Skiles, who was hired as head coach in late May, spent some of his time over the summer studying game footage from Oladipo. He came away quite impressed with the 6-foot-4 guard’s motor, his ability to affect games in a variety of ways and his willingness to challenge foes on the defensive end.
But Skiles also saw a player who too often tried to do too much – whether it was driving into the lane out of control, trying to dribble through traffic, attempting home run passes or gambling for steals on defense. The coach’s message to Oladipo this preseason has been all about becoming a smarter, more efficient player.
Skiles analyzed that Oladipo, 23, is still refining his skills and the coach predicted that, by far, the best is yet to come from the Magic standout.
``Victor has really only been a guard for about 3 ½ to four years. He was just sort of a player in high school, and at Indiana (University) he was developing into playing the guard position,’’ Skiles said. ``So, it’s just about the decisions of driving into the paint and knowing what to do with (the ball). I think his 3-point shooting is going to be better because he doesn’t have a bad shot at all and his shot is actually good. It’s just the decisions when he shoots into the contest and then passes up the open one. He’s 33 percent shooting (3-pointers in his career), but just by making better decisions of when to shoot it and when not to will get him up into a higher range. But he has a lot of potential.’’
Potential can sometimes be a tricky word, sometimes even fool’s gold for those players who don’t mature or refuse to put in the work necessary to improve. The Magic have no such worries with Oladipo, whose tireless work ethic was legendary when in college and it has been influential on others with the Magic. A big reason why the Magic chose Oladipo second overall in the 2013 draft was because of his upward career arc and where they feel he’s headed as a player.
A native of Silver Spring, Md., Oladipo famously didn’t even make his high school team as a freshman. And even though he eventually evolved into being a standout for national powerhouse, DeMatha Catholic High School, Oladipo had only one scholarship offer coming out of high school.
Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers was a witness to Oladipo’s rise because his son, Austin, and Oladipo played against one another for years in the AAU and high school circuits. Rivers said he saw Oladipo go from being one of the five best players on his team, to the best player on his team and finally one of the best players in the nation coming out of high school.
Oladipo made a similar leap from where he was as a NBA rookie during the 2013-4 season and a second-year player in ’14-15. Despite his start to last season being twice derailed by a knee sprain and a facial fracture, Oladipo improved his scoring average (from 13.8 ppg. to 17.9 ppg.), overall shooting (from 41.9 percent to 43.6 percent) and 3-point accuracy (32.7 percent to 33.9 percent) while trimming his turnovers (from 3.2 a game to 2.8).
``The biggest strides for me are being a better playmaker, taking care of the ball and obviously improving my jump shot,’’ Oladipo said. ``Overall, it’s about me being more confident, being more of a leader and making the right play more often. My rookie year and my sophomore year, there were a lot of changes, but now I know what I’m getting myself into and it’s just about making the right play more often.’’
Oladipo is floored that he is about to begin his third NBA season – ``it seems like yesterday that I started,’’ he said while shaking his head – but he also noted that time in the league has taught him how to better process the game. In many ways, Oladipo knows that he is what he is as a player – a ball-hawk on defense, an explosive threat off the dribble and on the break and an improving threat when left open on the perimeter.
Where he can still grow the most, Oladipo said after giving the topic much thought over the offseason, is better learning to think the game and play with his brain. Sometimes, Oladipo’s aggressiveness and desire overwhelm his game and lead to mistakes that cut into his effectiveness. After a summer of studying himself on video and contemplating ways that he can maximize his full potential as a player – be that of a superstar player or one that is simply just really good for years to come – Oladipo knows that he has to be smarter to get better.
Then, and only then, will diehard Magic fans and those around the basketball world truly see just how good Oladipo can be as a do-everything guard for Orlando.
``Just the mental part of the game as far as picking my spots, being confident and making the simple, precise play while not trying to do too much is the key,’’ Oladipo said. ``I just need to let the game come to me. So I’ve been focusing on my mental game. A lot of this game is mental. The greats kind of separate themselves with that mental edge and that’s what I’m trying to focus on.’’