'Still a Killer': Can Victor Oladipo Make the NBA Believe Again?

It's been 643 days since Victor Oladipo last played in the NBA, but you wouldn't know it. He speaks glowingly of basketball, so much, you can feel his smile through the phone.

He tells me how the game is in great young hands, and even though injuries have wreaked havoc and are now part of the NBA, he notes how the games are still competitive. There's an authentic energy about him as he's talking about it. He still takes notes and watches film, and when he speaks, there's a deep calmness about him, more like a player in the system—not someone who hasn't played for an NBA team in almost two years.

"Seeing who I've become and being able to resonate with myself now, I don't necessarily know if I would actually change my path or what I've been through," Oladipo tells B/R.

"It's motivated me to be even stronger than I could have ever imagined."

Oladipo's last NBA game was with the Miami Heat. It was against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 22, 2023, Game 3 of a first-round playoff series. He played 19 minutes before tearing his left patellar tendon.

Right before his season-ending injury, Oladipo pulled off a mercurial play, launching at a rebound at one end before flying past three Bucks players as he scored at the rim. In his next shooting act, that's when he slipped after driving down the lane around two defenders, grabbing his knee when he hit the floor.

That injury was Oladipo's third major surgery in four seasons. He says a lot of things could have contributed to that moment, but the reality is that it happened. Like many injuries that have sideline experienced players over the years, it's easy to drown in the "why me?" Oladipo says he felt that, but it didn't last long. He used that moment to accept he got injured, moved past it and now has his sights set on an NBA comeback.

"Ever since then, I've been growing, getting stronger both mentally and physically. I've been moving at my pace.

"I'm just deciding to fully listen to myself, stay patient and understand it's only my burden to bear."

Nieman Johnson has seen a lot of growth in Oladipo over the last two years. The injury that ended his time with Miami became the catalyst for an overhaul in self reflection. Johnson, who is his agent, will tell you that Oladipo took the time to heal and fix his body and that he learned more about himself, which extended his time away from the game.

At his lowest, Oladipo would wonder if he still had value to bring to the game. He'd get frustrated with the rehab and the time it was taking to rebuild. And, no longer on an NBA roster, he had to adapt to people putting him on the back burner. These fleeting thoughts weighed heavily on him. But he learned, over time, to overcome the mental component.

"There's only so many people who can relate to what he's gone through. He's learned to trust his own feelings, his own gut, every day. He's learned how to be better at that mentally, spiritually, physically," Johnson said. "This time off he's realized just how special he is and leaned into his own abilities again–all without a basketball community."

Last year, Oladipo spent a majority of his time in Houston visiting doctors, personal trainers and spiritual healers. He focused on tedious strength and balancing routines. These are the choices of a man who wants to get everything functioning and working the way he needs to before embarking on the biggest challenge of his career and getting back to the NBA.

What's pushing him became a common question to all who have spent time with him over the last two years. And the answers came in a wide variety.

Some will say he wants to set an example for his young daughter not to give up. He wants to show other players, too, not to give up on themselves. Others will say that Oladipo doesn't want to end his career by injury and that he still has more to give the game. Victor will tell you that he just loves the game of basketball.

"I think they (NBA teams) know who Victor is. I think they know what he's capable of," Johnson said. "There are definitely guys out there playing that he's better than, and I think they know that as well."

For the past 25 years, Dave Alexander, a strength, conditioning and biomechanics coach, has worked to rebuild the bodies of the NBA's biggest stars: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Devin Booker. He also works with players on performance, tissue recovery and weight room mechanics. He first worked with Oladipo in 2017-18 after he'd won the league's Most Improved Player award, and now his challenge is remaking his name and getting him back to that level where he averaged 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 75 games.

Oladipo started working again with Alexander four months ago and spends five days a week in the gym doing strength and biomechanics work. That's in the morning before he hits the court with skills coach Stan Remy. And after that in the afternoon, he's back with Alexander at the DBC facility in Miami for recovery, stretching and wind down. On Thursdays and Fridays, training is ramped up with plyometric work and speed.

Alexander says there's been leaps and progression in Oladipo's numbers. He's down 14 pounds. And he has improved his speed.

"Vic is making every sacrifice possible. For me, as his trainer, seeing that is, he wants it. He wants to be with a team that can go in and win a ring," he said. "Of course he wants to get his minutes. We're praying he gets put in the right situation where he's gonna get time, because he's going to be ready to go. He's just as explosive if not more than when I saw him in 2017."

Part of the reason Oladipo has made headway into a strict regime that takes all of his energy and commitment is that although he did have injuries, they weren't catastrophic or career-ending ones like an ACL or Achilles tear, says Alexander. He doesn't have the same wear and tear on his body as other players his age, and now he's focused on giving himself every chance to make an NBA comeback.

It's the little details driving him forward: getting to the gym early, getting enough sleep, hiring a full-time chef so he's eating the proper fuels.

"He's in a space mentally that he understands his body and how he approaches the court is the most important thing and he's putting all that first again," Alexander said. "The way he's training and the way he's approaching his body, his game, his craft–I've been blessed to be able to train some of the best in the game–his mentality is right there right now."

The next phase for Oladipo will be to ramp up his five-on-five court time. Alexander says people will be pleasantly surprised at what they will see.

"They're not going to have to ramp him up. When that time comes, he's not going to skip a beat.

"Watch that Game 7. That's the guy that's coming back to the NBA. He has a chip on his shoulder."

Last summer, Oladipo joined Stan Remy's skills sessions that included a swathe of NBA players. Remy, who has worked with Andre Drummond and the likes of Dwyane Wade, works on refining skills and hitting accomplishments that are aligned with general managers and coaches. He said Oladipo was one of the bright spots among the cohort and believes that, skills aside, his new superpower will be mentoring young players on being professional.

Over the last two years, NBA teams like Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee and Washington have made calls about Oladipo, according to Nieman Johnson, his agent.

"The experience of life can help propel somebody else," he said. "That's a superpower to have in the locker room. That's a key component that he's added. I think he'd be a great mentor to young players at this stage of his career."

Teams like Miami, Philadelphia and potentially the Los Angeles Lakers or Clippers could make fits for Oladipo, as he could come in, play point or shooting guard and give minutes off the bench, says Remy. With injuries and young players that need mentor relationships, Oladipo could find himself scoring off the bench and being a locker room leader.

Remy, who started working with Oladipo when he was playing with Orlando and reconnected when he landed in Miami, has helped build Oladipo back into a durable, strong, athletic shooter who's still quick and sharp through in-game simulations, pick-and-rolls, pull-ups and playmaking. He says that Oladipo makes better reads and that his rhythm and timing are there, but he admitted it's hard to simulate real NBA conditions until he gets there.

"Victor had to create himself the All-Star he became. The Victor that I see now is a father. He's different," he said. "His outlook on how he looks at basketball, he's still a killer, but he just understands the business of the game."

Former Indiana University basketball coach Tom Crean recalls that Oladipo had to overcome doubters not being ranked and not being highly thought of as a player during his college career.

He also remembers his insatiable appetite for basketball. He would be glued to the TV in the spring, watching the NBA playoffs intently. The Western Conference would end around midnight. Oladipo would call the director of player development to book time in the gym, where they'd work out until the early hours of the morning.

It's these qualities and traits he learned and adapted at a young age that have helped form the foundation of his latest rebuild where he's had to face doubt again. Coach Crean saw in Oladipo a kid who was resilient and was able to rise above negativity and naysayers.

"Every doubt that he had, and every time that he's been faced with something that's really hard, he never gives into it," Crean said. "Everyone has a bad day. He just doesn't let it consume him so that it turns into multiple bad days. He got over bad moments and bad days quickly."

The example that Remy points to as motivation for Oladipo is the Elfrid Payton story. Payton waited 920 days before getting the call from the Pelicans last November. Five days after that, the 30-year-old dished out 21 assists. In his time away from the league, he played in Puerto Rico and spent a season in the G League. Payton told William Guillory of The Athletic:

"I believed the opportunity would come. It was longer than I thought or expected, but that ain't the point. … (There were) some days when I felt like all the work was for nothing. But I had to find ways to keep going. If you really have a passion for the game and a love for the game, you've got to find a way to push through."

Remy says that Payton's story, combined with more opportunities as the injury toll in the league rises, is light at the end of the tunnel for Oladipo. And although he's not ready to think about carving out court time in Europe to get back into the league, the G League is an option he'd consider.

"He's more hungry than I've ever seen him, the challenge, the mountain he's had to climb," Remy said. "He comes into the gym every day and goes 1,000 percent. By killing these workouts, that's our goal. He's been as fiery and as passionate as I've ever seen him."

Oladipo has thought about some of the things that teams, executives or coaches might be thinking as he enters the next part of his NBA journey: He's 32 with an injury history and hasn't played in nearly two years. But for him, he knows the work he's put in to get his body stronger and hopes to focus on his capabilities.

"Doing what I've done is not for the weak. Also, patience is the key. All I have to do is listen to myself and my body. I'm just trusting the process. And that's really all I'm doing," he said.

"When you have surgery three times, you have to dig deep. It has fueled me."

Crean believes Oladipo's path forward could be two ways. First, he might have to land a contract somewhere to establish numbers and efficiency or he could go to a team where he could hit the ground running. Crean said Oladipo understands both: how to be a star, and how to be in a support role.

"What he did in Miami was a great example of what he's capable of. He lifted them to some pretty good moments. And a lot of it was off the bench," Crean said. "Can he mentor young players? Absolutely. Could he add value to a contender? Absolutely. Starter again, on a team and contribute? Absolutely. Whatever he decides to do, whatever happens, I just hope it's a team that sees that value of not only what he's capable of doing but sees the value of who he is."

Despite getting to this point, there are still no guarantees for Oladipo. And he's OK with that. His time will come when it comes, he tells me.

"I don't want to interfere with my imagination right now for the course I'm on, but when that time comes, I'm definitely going to sit down with my team and see who might have some interest in me being on their unit," he said. "I'm looking forward to when that time comes."