By John Denton
March 29, 2017
ORLANDO – Everything that Victor Oladipo endured and learned during his three seasons with the Orlando Magic – alternating positions, playing as a starter and a reserve and battling through the frustration of consecutive non-playoff seasons – helped to make him a better player now, the guard said on Wednesday.
Back in Orlando to play a basketball game for the first time since he was traded from the Magic to the Thunder last June, Oladipo said he will be a better player going forward because of all he experienced during his first three seasons with the Magic.
``The way I played here, playing some point (guard) and some (shooting guard), learning both positions and dealing with the ups and downs, it prepared me for now,’’ Oladipo said Wednesday morning following his team’s morning shoot-around session. ``Sometimes I had the ball in my hands here and sometimes I didn’t. At the end of the day, I learned it and now I know what to do. Like I said, it was a blessing in disguise.’’
When the Magic (27-47) and the Thunder (42-31) face off tonight at 7, Oladipo will likely be cheered by an Amway Center crowd that fell in love with his passion and effort the past three seasons. Oladipo, the No. 2 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Magic, said he will always have fond memories of his time in Orlando even though the franchise failed to find much success.
``Great memories and we had some great times in this arena with some big shots and big plays,’’ Oladipo said. ``I’m looking forward to playing here and it’s going to be fun.
``If I get an ovation, it will be nice, man,’’ Oladipo continued. ``I gave everything that I had for these fans here and for this team. It would be nice to have a nice ovation and then go out there and compete.’’
Stocked with a glut of wing players and in desperate need of a rim protector, Orlando dealt Oladipo to Oklahoma City on June 23 in exchange for Serge Ibaka, No. 11 draft pick Domantas Sabonis and veteran Ersan Ilyasova. That trade put an end to Oladipo’s much-discussed hopes of building a winner with the Magic, but it also offered him the chance to play with an established winner in the Thunder and alongside a superstar in point guard Russell Westbrook.
``Sometimes change is good, man,’’ said Oladipo, who is averaging 16.4 points, 4.4 assists and 2.5 rebounds a game while shooting 45.2 percent from the floor and 38.6 percent from 3-point range. ``I wouldn’t say I was `in tears’ disappointed. I knew I was going to a great opportunity and a great situation for myself. It ended up being good for me. At the end of the day, I’m happy with where I’m at.’’
Oladipo has benefitted from playing off the ball in OKC and allowing Westbrook to shoulder the load of running the team. Called by Oladipo, ``the MVP of the league,’’ Westbrook is averaging 31.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 10.4 assists a game while compiling 37 triple-doubles. He needs just four more triple-doubles to reach Oscar Robertson’s all-time record of 41 set in the 1961-62 season.
Westbrook had 41 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds against the Magic back on Nov. 13 for his third triple-double of the season. Oladipo took a back seat to his much-ballyhooed teammate that night, scoring just 12 points. The Magic got the last laugh, winning 119-117 when Ibaka hit the game-sealing shot in the final seconds.
Orlando has since moved on from Ibaka, dealing him to Toronto for Terrence Ross on Feb. 14. Ross, who played back in Toronto for the first time on Wednesday, will be guarding Oladipo tonight in his first game back in Orlando.
Oladipo said that every big game and every bad loss, every position switch from point guard to shooting guard and every ounce of blood, sweat and tears that he poured into his three seasons with the Magic formed a foundation that will carry him throughout the rest of his NBA career.
``I learned so much here. I learned who I was as a man and as a basketball player and what I needed to work on here,’’ said Oladipo, who averaged 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.63 steals in 224 games (167 starts) with the Magic. ``I had been through so much here – ups and downs, getting benched, starting, going to the point and moving to (shooting guard) – and all of that was a blessing in disguise. It prepared me to be a man and be in the situation that I am in now and how to affect the game in different ways.
``I’m appreciative of my years here and I thank God for my years here,’’ Oladipo continued. ``The amazing people I met in my years here, they taught me so much and taught me how to grow, do little things and how to be a pro. So there will always be a place for this organization in my heart. So, like I said, it’s just an honor to be back and I’m looking forward to competing against those (Magic) guys tonight.’’
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