Orlando Magic: Victor Oladipo’s Big Year

It’s no secret that the Orlando Magic are hoping that internal growth can push them towards a playoff spot this coming season. In an ideal world, Tobias Harris would validate his new contract with a career year, while Nikola Vucevic would become a first time All-Star.

Mario Hezonja would hit the ground running, while Elfrid Payton would come to camp with a more reliable jump shot.

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All of this is looking on the overly optimistic side however, and if even a couple of the scenarios mentioned above unfold, it will have been a good year for the Magic. In some ways though, what third-year player Victor Oladipo does will trump all of this.

He is the player this organization has trusted since day one to be the face of the franchise, and we’d be lying to ourselves if we didn’t admit that at times it looked like maybe that was not his destiny in the NBA.

Certainly I’ve spoken for a long time now about how I feel he would work best as the second-best player on the team, a two-way terror who can give you 17 points, six rebounds and four assists, while also locking down the opponent’s best backcourt player.

But then Oladipo started making people talk with his performances at the Team USA camp in Las Vegas, and now his perception may be turning.

Now, there are many reasons why Oladipo was one of the better players at a camp full of stars, and these include wanting to show off against the best players in the world, something he successfully did (on an unrelated note, he seemed to play extremely well with Amir Johnson as well, how great it would be to see him in Magic colors one day).

Personally I felt his passing and court awareness was as good as it’s ever been, which is relevant as it means he can cover the point guard position in Orlando if necessary. But the most important aspect of that entire experience however, was looking like he belonged there. We saw a confidence that was not present when Oladipo was invited to previous camps.

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He looked like a guy coming into his own, a player who was finally sure of his talents.

That hasn’t always been the case of course. While Oladipo has been a contributor for this Magic team since day one, during that rookie campaign he looked hesitant at times to take over games. This was acceptable of course, it’s tough for a young guy and first-year player to know when to take over themselves, and when to defer to the senior players on their team.

But Oladipo stuck at it, and last season brought more joy as the leader of his team. Annoying injuries to start the campaign aside, he was usually the Magic’s best player on any given night, even if Vucevic was arguably more consistent during that same stretch. But why is all of this relevant right now?

Well, as we’ve said, Oladipo’s continued growth and improvement is more important than any other player on Orlando’s roster.

If he continues trending upwards like he is, a couple of years from now star players will look to Oladipo, and hopefully his much improved supporting cast, as an attractive destination to continue their basketball careers. But his performances at USA camp got me even more excited than that, and with good reason.

Oladipo can absolutely be an All-Star this year, and the way he fit in at those scrimmages reminded me of previous stars in years gone past who later went on to great things. Two such guys who I will always associate with having massive growth in the third year of their careers are Paul George and Derrick Rose.

To me they were two players who started their careers well (in both cases I would argue, stronger than Oladipo did) but really exploded during that third season.

Sadly for both, serious injury has hampered them to date, and hopefully Oladipo will not suffer the same setbacks. But looking at the numbers, Oladipo’s second year in the league was actually in many ways as good as George’s third, his breakout year.

George was an All-Star that season and had the whole league on alert with his athletic highlight plays and consistently notable performances.

The Indiana Pacers were a team putting it all together, and George quickly grew into the leader and star player that team needed. The stage now seems set for Oladipo to do the same, and that includes some roster similarities. Vucevic and Roy Hibbert are different kinds of centers, but both are dominant in their own way.

Harris and David West are at completely different points in their careers, but both are forwards who can help their teams in a number of ways.

Point guard C.J. Watson joined the Magic this summer and was a part of those exciting Pacers teams as well. Returning to the numbers though, and last season Oladipo put up 17.9 points and 4.1 assists. George, during that third season when everybody was hyping him up to become a genuine superstar, averaged 17.4 points and 4.1 assists.

The two play different positions, which is fair enough, but already we can through the basic numbers alone that Oladipo is a high-level player.

George easily grabbed more rebounds that year (Although Oladipo was no slouch with 4.2 per game) and his Player Efficiency Rating was that bit higher as well (16.8 to Oladipo’s 15.9). But you only have to look at the two to see that Oladipo is without question going in the right direction, and that is exciting.

Admittedly Rose’s numbers are just in another world to Oladipo’s from his third season, but the point is Oladipo is showing that he is continuing to improve at an elite level.

Which brings up back to this moment, Team USA camp and the confidence Oladipo is now showing. Really that seemed to be the attribute he really lacked, that intangible that would allow him to put all of his talent together. It’s not that he was afraid, he was just growing at his own pace.

But now I think that Oladipo is about to have a huge year, even if last year’s numbers show that he was pretty great then too, it’s just people didn’t give him the attention he deserved.

Offensively he’s turning into a more reliable gunner than I thought was possible, and that truly means the sky is the limit for this guy. His three-point shooting (career 33 percent) has to improve, but you fell that too will trend upwards this season as well. He’s the one guy the Magic believed could lead their expedition back to relevancy, and now he’s about to do it.

All it took was a scrimmage in Las Vegas to make people truly believe.

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