Victor Oladipo: Player Review after the First 20 Games
The addition of Victor Oladipo has been one of the biggest reasons why the Oklahoma City Thunder have been able to stay over .500.
I love everything about Victor Oladipo.
The way Oladipo plays defense is beautiful. He’s like an NFL cornerback in that he gives his opponents’ no space to work with. Oladipo’s 98.8 defensive rating is easily the lowest of his career even though his traditional defensive statistics (blocks and steals) are down.
Nov 14, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Victor Oladipo (5) dribbles the ball during the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
The way Oladipo plays offense is beautiful. Over the last ten games Oladipo has found his niche in the Thunder offense. He’s averaging over 18 points a game on 51.3% shooting in that stretch while dishing out more assists and less turnovers.
Most importantly, the way you say Oladipo is beautiful. Especially when you draw out the final “o.” Say it with me: Oladipooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Fun right?
Going into this season there were high expectations for Dipo (yet another hybrid name that rolls off the tongue), especially after he signed an $84 million extension in October. At the time I wasn’t thrilled considering how Dipo had played in the preseason/early regular season. Now I think it may be one of the better contracts in basketball going forward.
This isn’t just an article singing Oladipo’s praises though. We’re gonna take a look at what Oladipo has done well, where his biggest areas of improvement are and much, much more. Let’s get it started!
Where Victor Oladipo has exceeded expectations
Going into this grand experiment, we knew that Oladipo was going to be solid on the defensive end. In fact, Oladipo’s 98.8 defensive rating is the lowest number of any Thunder player to play in all 20 games. He trails Nick Collison (the 12th man), Ersan Ilyasova (the guy who got traded after three games) and Kyle Singler (the guy who should be a carpenter).
Mar 29, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kyle Singler (5) and Detroit Pistons forward Marcus Morris (13) battle for the ball during the first quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Take those guys away and Dipo has the best defensive rating in OKC. He is 1.1 points below Andre Roberson; Roberson’s rating is killed by the fact he has to guard the best player on the other team so I won’t claim Oladipo is the best defender on the Thunder.
The big question mark, however, was whether or not Oladipo would be able to score more while also shooting more efficiently. So far that has been the case.
After a rough start, Vic (yet ANOTHER great alteration) is scoring over 17 points a game while shooting a career-best 46.7% from the field. He’s hitting over 40% of his threes; that’s the number we all should be excited about.
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For his career Oladipo is an under-35% shooter from deep. But going back to his Indiana days, we knew he could become knockdown with a little practice. In his last season as a Hoosier, Vic shot 44% from deep after being a 20% shooter the year before. He came into college a generally awful shooter, but through hours of practice he became solid. Now we’re starting to see that in the NBA.
As long as this continues (which I believe it will), teams are going to have to start respecting Oladipo’s perimeter game. Opponents are daring an open Dipo to beat them, and the last 10 games he has taken advantage of that strategy. The 24-year old is averaging over 18 points a game in that stretch compared to 17 on the season.
If you take anything away from this section, it should be that Oladipo has grown exponentially in his short tenure in Oklahoma City. That’s all we want to see from this season out of the young guys: exponential growth.
Where Victor Oladipo can focus on his game
As much fun as it is to praise Dipo, we have to point out where he could be better. Victor, if you’re reading this it’s only because I think you can be an all-star so I have high expectations for you. ALSO, you have been doing a lot of what I’m about to point out these last ten games.
Probably the biggest hole in Oladipo’s game this season has been his ability to create shots for others. At the beginning of the season Oladipo would drive at the basket like Russell Westbrook…except he’s not Russell Westbrook.
Nov 13, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Victor Oladipo (5) drives to the basket in front of Orlando Magic forward Serge Ibaka (7) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Dipo doesn’t have Westbrook’s rare ability to go 110 mph while also actively looking for open teammates. That’s no fault on Dipo, it’s just another facet of Westbrook’s greatness.
Back to the original point. In the first four games of the season, Oladipo shot a hair under 33% from the field. He heard how he had to be the secondary scoring option in Oklahoma City and he took that too far. But as the season has continued, Oladipo is finding his role in the offense.
Instead of driving with the intention of scoring, Victor is now focusing on finding a better shot for his teammates. His three assists a game this season are down from his career average, but his 4.3 average over the last ten games are above that career number.
When Oladipo is working to get shots for others, the Thunder win. He averages 3.4 assists per game in wins and only 2.3 in losses. His average during the latest Thunder four game win streak? 4.75.
What’s next for Victor Oladipo
If you haven’t been able to tell, I’ve been itching to write about Oladipo for awhile now. I’ve loved the kid since his college days, and it has everything to do with his approach to the game.
Nov 16, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Victor Oladipo (5) drives to the basket in front of Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Victor is the prototypical Sam Presti-player. Basketball is the #1 priority in his life, and he’s not playing the game for the riches that come with it. There’s a reason why Dipo took $20 million less than he was originally asking; he wants to win a championship.
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Every year, whether that be college or professional, Oladipo comes back better at something in his game. This season it’s his three-point shooting. Next season I’d like to think it will be his playmaking ability. Just playing and watching Russell Westbrook will help him with that transition, and it surely helps that Russ is genuinely fond of Oladipo.
As he continues to play in Oklahoma City we are only going to see Victor’s numbers increase, both traditional numbers and advanced stats. He’s already posting the highest effective field goal and true shooting percentages of his career, while cutting his turnover ratio to the lowest of his career as well.
There are still times where things go awry, but that’s to be expected. Seeing the growth in Victor Oladipo over the first 20 games of the season is a sign of great things to come.
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