Orlando Magic: Victor Oladipo Proving Doubters Wrong
By Evan Massey
The Orlando Magic selected shooting guard Victor Oladipo with the second overall selection in the 2013 NBA Draft. There were quite a few people who pegged him as a future star, but there were still some people who doubted that his game would translate to the NBA completely. Oladipo has done everything that he could and then some to turn that perception of his game around.
Victor Oladipo has played in 62 games with the Orlando Magic so far this season, starting in 37 of those appearances. He has averaged 13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists this year, and most importantly has played exceptionally good defense. The Magic have been impressed with Oladipo’s ability to play the point guard position as well.
The Magic certainly haven’t had much success since Dwight Howard left, but they believe that Victor Oladipo is the type of player that can be a big piece of the reason that they make the playoffs again. His potential to become a two-way superstar in the league is very easy to see, and his work ethic is one of the best in the NBA as well. It will be very intriguing to see whether Oladipo’s future is at the point guard position, or whether he remains as a shooting guard.
As you can see from this shot chart, Oladipo needs to work on his perimeter shooting to take the next step in his game. Three-point shooting was one of the main concerns about him prior to the NBA Draft, and he has shown the ability to hit the shot, but not at a consistent rate. If he’s able to get his 3-point shot up to around 37 percent or so, he would become an even more dangerous scorer.
The Orlando Magic were very fortunate that the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to pass on Oladipo in favor of Anthony Bennett. They very well might have gotten their future franchise player, and he certainly has already won over the fans. If he continues to improve at the rate that he has been this year over the next few seasons, he is going to become a very impressive basketball player.
Overall, Victor Oladipo has completely proved his doubters wrong through his strong play this season. There are still a few areas that he needs to improve it, but if he is indeed able to become the type of athletic point guard that the Magic hope he can be, he’ll be difficult to stop. Don’t be surprised if Oladipo takes the NBA by storm and surprises people even more next season after a full offseason to improve.
Evan Massey is a Staff Writer for HoopsHabit.com. Follow Evan on Twitter at @Massey_Evan.