Victor Oladipo at his best is a true No. 1 option
It was Oladipo’s two-way effort, along with Elfrid Payton’s anticipatory defense and Dewayne Dedmon’s persistent attack of the glass—that kept the Magic fighting in this one with a Western Conference playoff contender.
The Suns are hardly the toast of the league, but Phoenix is arguably more formidable than all but four or five Eastern Conference teams, and the Magic stayed in this one for the entire 48 minutes, even building a double-digit lead in the first half.
Oladipo ensured that the game would come down to the wire, and he measured the defense methodically in a pick and roll with Dedmon before channeling himself towards the rim again to pull the Magic within three with 1:15 remaining. His tough winding layup in transition following Nikola Vucevic’s defensive thievery would pull Orlando within a point as Phoenix called for timeout, 31 seconds remaining in the game.
Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe would ice the game at the line for the Suns as the Magic failed to get a look on an inbounds that could have tied the game with a triple. But Oladipo had made his mark, and he’d shown that one of the NBA’s quicker backcourts could be rendered as statues with his jarringly quick first steps.
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Thunderous Intentions
At this point it is looking as though Oladipo is a player an offense can be built around. He has the talent to be a number one option in an offense, but the real luxury is that Nikola Vucevic is just as much of a franchise player.
For a team that is mired with just 19 wins thus far in a season coming to its close, there are two definitive talents that can be built around. Vucevic is the best chip to come from the three-team deal that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers, and Oladipo is the prize draft chip that Rob Hennigan snagged in a draft that was said to be among the weakest of the lottery era.
That really has not turned out to be the case, and Oladipo comes out not as just a game-changing, quality starter, but as a potential All-Star and a guy whose talents are only now starting to be displayed to the nation at large.
His dunk contest performance was kind of an exhibition to show the greater NBA audience what it might be missing, and this is now the juncture at which we begin to see this team getting picked to be on NBA TV’s Tuesday Game Night.
People are going to want to see this guy in Orlando that dropped 38 on the Suns, that outclassed Eric Bledsoe, a max-contract guy who many dubbed “mini LeBron”. That’s a show.
The Magic clearly have a guy on this team that fans are going to clamor to see, and most feared that may take a while. He’s been here the whole time—and he’s only getting better.
Definitively, Oladipo is the franchise player that can be the face of this Magic team.
Next: What's next for the Magic's young backcourt?