What kind of improvement can we expect from Victor Oladipo as he enters year three of his NBA career?
Victor Oladipo has shown more offensive brilliance than was ever suspected of him when Orlando took him No. 2 overall in 2013. Arguably, he is the best in his draft class. But the chance is there for Oladipo to be so much more.
He closely follows a model of success at shooting guard that has proven to be effective: he is physical, he is aggressive and he pursues his shot when he is feeling it.
The next step for Oladipo is to become a threat on his off nights by getting to the basket, by getting to the line. While he made a major leap offensively in year two, he is still a player in need of some fixes in his offensive attack.
Oladipo also could set it before himself to become an elite shooter. Shooting is the easiest area to develop in one’s game and he would follow a path of myriads of non-shooters who eventually honed their jumper into a strength. Orlando’s own Nick Anderson was such a player, as was No. 5 all-time 3-point maker Jason Kidd.
Oladipo has the time to develop a shot that the Magic can better capitalize on, and his stroke is by no means bad.
Thunderous Intentions
It is really a matter of Oladipo continuing to develop comfort in what he can do and maximizing his game within the structure of Scott Skiles’ offense.
Oladipo has every chance to be the No. 1 option, and his usage rate was the highest on the team last season (24.4 percent). He will have the chances to create for himself and others, and he is a capable passer who can set up teammates quite well. He runs the two-man game with Nikola Vucevic better than any other Magic player, and he is the kind of guy whose talents do make teammates better.
Oladipo is a consummate teammate who still puts forth maximum effort on the defensive end. The hope will be that he is able to maintain that high level of play as he assumes a larger scoring role.
He has been tireless, a 36 minute a night guy, and the Magic will likely seek to dial his minutes back a tad with so much talent behind him on the bench.
That may be to Oladipo’s advantage, however, as he will have slightly more energy on the court with Evan Fournier and Mario Hezonja ready to check in.
The Magic are for the first time in this rebuild working with depth, but Oladipo is the guy who can be a top-shelf NBA 2-guard and he is well on his way to solidifying that status already.
Oladipo has become a scorer and that is where we will begin our projections.
Next: Shooting and Scoring