Pulse Opinion: How Victor Oladipo became the most improved player in the NBA

Victor Oladipo has improved remarkably this season in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers.

When Oklahoma City Thunder in the summer of 2017, traded Victor Oladipo to Indiana Pacers, it was considered a good deal for the Thunder.

He had struggled in his only season at Oklahoma City, averaging the fewest points since his rookie year with 15.9 and didn’t show the verve and aggression that he was known for in his play.

 

Indeed he was disappointing for the Thunders who had traded him on draft night 2016 and looking to the Nigerian-American to be a secondary ball handler.

Kevin Durant then left as a free agent to the Golden State Warriors leaving the Thunders without one of their centrepieces.

With the exit of Durant, Russell Westbrook became the main man leaving everyone else including Dipo as second fiddle.

In the 2016-2017 season, Dipo didn’t attack the rim well enough and held on to the ball less.

After an underwhelming season, Dipo was traded to the Pacers who had traded Paul George in a move that was panned by media and NBA enthusiasts.

Pacers were expected to be affected with the absence of George but with an improved Dipo, they are tied 2-2 with the LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the Eastern Conference Play-Offs.

Dipo had double points in 73 consecutive regular-season games and only had a single-digit game just in early April.

 

In Game One of the Playoff, Dipo scored 32 points as they shocked the Cavs that have reached the last three NBA finals.

In that game, the 25-year-old had six rebounds, four assists, and four steals. What a remarkable improvement from the player that Thunders traded in the summer of 2017.

The 32 points he logged against the Cavaliers in Game One, is more than half of his total points output for the five postseason games last season.

Dipo’s Pacers are now tied 2-2 with the Cavs and have the chance of pulling one of the shocks of the Playoffs so far.

Off course, LeBron has a huge say in how this tie finishes, but Dipo over the course of the season has shown that he can no longer be ignored.