Oklahoma City Thunder: Victor Oladipo Will Exceed Expectations

In many cases, NBA players that haven’t reached their full potential can credit it to the team they’re on. After being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Victor Oladipo no longer has that problem.

As we approach the 2016-17 NBA season, it’s been three seasons for the draft class of 2013 to prove themselves. Considering how strong the draft prior and following years were, it’s safe to say that it was by far the weakest class in recent memory.

A few players like C.J. McCollum, Steven Adams, and Giannis Antetokounmpo have made their presence felt for their respective teams, but all of those players named were taken outside the top 10.

The second overall pick of that draft, Victor Oladipo, has had a solid three seasons in the NBA thus far, but his talent was never utilized correctly in Orlando.

Now with the Oklahoma City Thunder, we get to see him blossom into the player he had potential to be when he declared for the draft after starring for Indiana University.

Oladipo is an extremely explosive combo guard. At 6’4,” he’s at the size where he would be a big point guard or an undersized shooting guard. However, translating to the NBA game, Oladipo is certainly not point guard-worthy.

At Indiana, he facilitated the offense in most part because he was usually the best player on the floor, but his floor general skills wasn’t what was going to make him successful at the next level.

Still, the head coach at the time Jacque Vaughn still tried to develop him into a point guard, only to miserably fail. It isn’t that Oladipo is bad, it’s just the simple fact that his strength is scoring from the wing.

The best bet is to play him at shooting guard and allow his elite defensive prowess to battle the bigger guards that he gets matched up with.

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Vaughn finally realized that he would be most effective at shooting guard and as a result, he posted 17.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game in his second year. Everything was looking up for Oladipo.

He was living up to being the second overall pick of the draft and on the verge of really making himself a household name in the NBA.

And then Scott Skiles was hired.

For whatever reason, Skiles and Oladipo didn’t mesh. After Skiles chose to leave the team after just one season, it’s clear that he didn’t mesh with the majority of the players on that Magic team.

Last season, it was difficult for Oladipo to define his role. Skiles had him starting, coming off the bench as a sixth man, and sometimes, playing almost the entire game. It’s vitally important to establish roles for your players on a basketball team.

If not, it’s difficult for players to know which opportunities they need to take advantage of during the course of a game.

Three years after being drafted, Oladipo was traded during this year’s draft to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He now can play under a competent coach in Billy Donovan that will put him in position to excel offensively.

Instead of Elfrid Payton as a backcourt mate, he now has the frontrunner for the 2016-17 MVP, Russell Westbrook. Instead of playing for a bottom team in the Eastern Conference, he’ll now be a part of a team that is good enough to be a threat in the Western Conference Playoffs.

Sure, Kevin Durant is no longer there and that would’ve meant joining an instant championship contender, but the absence of Durant leaves more room for opportunity for Oladipo.

Westbrook will still control the ball for the majority of the Thunder’s possessions, but the both of them will be featured in countless pick-and-roll situations within the 48 minutes of a game.

Defensively, the backcourt duo will cause havoc to every team’s game plan. Westbrook has the reputations to ball-watch on defense, but nevertheless, his energy and two steals per game average shows that he can still give his opponents issues.

Oladipo is a flat-out lockdown defender. He plays extremely disciplined and is always in the right position whether he is guarding on-ball or in help rotations.

This isn’t even mentioning the destruction these two will cause in open floor. If you don’t know that Westbrook is one of the most feared players in transition, then chances are you haven’t watched any NBA basketball for the past four years.

His tenacity attacking the rim is relentless, no matter who is in his way. Both players can finish well above the rim and are elite in the athletic category.

There will be plenty of highlights from these two in the upcoming season.

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Oladipo is finally in an environment where he can pick up where he left off after his successful second season. A good team, an intelligent coach, and complimentary teammates that suit his game will be the formula for Oladipo to continue his transformation into an All-Star caliber player.

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