Indiana Pacers: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards

Most Valuable Player: Victor Oladipo

The Pacers are still trying to win a Most Valuable Player award, they’ve had no luck in their 51 years as a franchise. As I alluded to, Paul George never fulfilled his potential of being a perennial MVP candidate, could his replacement win the award?

How ironic would it be if the player Paul George was traded for wins the MVP? I suppose the Oklahoma City Thunder are already regretting the decision to trade Oladipo, but surely adding salt to their wounds would make it unbearable for Sam Presti and co.

I’ve already shown you just how good Oladipo is on the defensive side of the ball, now let’s talk about his offensive game. To simply put it: Oladipo can do everything. You want him to shoot? Drive to the basket? Pull up for a mid-ranger? Oladipo will give you efficient production on a nightly basis. At times you could see shades of Russell Westbrook, especially how aggressive Oladipo was going to the basic, and attacking the mid-range.

In his first season with the Pacers, he averaged 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. Also, Oladipo made 47.7 percent of his field goal attempts, knocking down 37.1 percent of his 3s in the process.

In the grand scheme of things, it seems unlikely that Oladipo will win the Most Valuable Player award. The Maryland native just isn’t on the same level as the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant just yet, so unless he led the Pacers to 55-60 wins, it’s unlikely he’d be that high on MVP radars.